Armenian Court upholds appeal barring Artsakh residents from voting

ArmInfo.  The Civil Court of Appeals of Armenia has upheld  an appeal by the Migration and Citizenship Service effectively barring Artsakh residents holding  passport code 070 from voting in the upcoming parliamentary elections  on June 7, 2026.

According to the press service of the Armenian Ministry of Internal  Affairs (MIA), the legal challenge was initiated after social media  reports suggested that forcibly displaced Artsakh residents could be  included on electoral lists and obtain voting rights without  officially applying for Armenian citizenship. Notably, prior to this  appellate ruling, an Armenian administrative court had upheld three  separate claims by Artsakh residents, which had initially ordered  their inclusion on the voter registries.  However, the Armenian  Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that the initial decisions  issued by the Yerevan Civil Court of First Instance of General  Jurisdiction were promptly appealed by the state's Migration and  Citizenship Service.

"Continuing our open and honest dialogue with you, we inform you that  the appeals filed by the Migration and Citizenship Service of the  Ministry of Internal Affairs in these cases were upheld by the Civil  Court of Appeals; the lower court decisions were overturned, and the  civil proceedings were terminated," the Ministry stated in an  official release.  Regarding information circulating about the  possibility of appealing these judicial decisions, the Ministry urged  the public to focus on the ruling of the Court of Appeals. The court  noted that the right to appeal a judicial decision is not determined  by the court's own findings within a specific ruling, but rather by  the relevant legislative statutes.

"The Court of Appeal finds that the regulation established by Part 1  of Article 213 of the Administrative Procedure Code of the Republic  of Armenia—which states that 'judicial decisions of the  administrative court examining the merits of a case and concerning  the protection of electoral rights are final, not subject to review,  and enter into force upon publication'—is not applicable to the facts  of this case. Under these circumstances, the general rules of the  Civil Procedure Code of the Republic of Armenia regarding appeals  should apply. According to Clause 2 of Part 1 of Article 208 of the  Administrative Procedure Code, cases concerning the protection of  electoral rights related to the clarification of voter lists fall  under the jurisdiction of courts of general jurisdiction. In this  case, however, the matter brought for review falls outside the scope  of a court of general jurisdiction." In light of this, the Ministry  of Internal Affairs reiterated that only citizens of Armenia have the  right to participate in parliamentary elections. "We urge you not to  fall for misleading statements and not to take futile actions based  on them," the Ministry concluded.

Recall, on May 26, 2026, Artsakh lawyer Roman Yeritsyan reported that  an Armenian court upheld the claim of Artsakh resident Marat  Yeganyan, ordering the Migration and Citizenship Service of the  Ministry of Internal Affairs of Armenia to include him on the  electoral lists. The court specifically noted that a person already  considered a citizen cannot be deprived of their citizenship by a  government decision. Thus, the court confirmed the passive electoral  right of Artsakh residents holding passports with the code 070. -