Verdict: fake news

Yerevan Today journalist Suzy Badoyan wrote that NA Vice Speaker Alen Simonyan entered his polling station on Saryan Street in Yerevan, at the school after Andranik Margaryan, voted, left and began to greet people, shaking hands, standing there for about 15 minutes and not leaving the area. The information is false, Alen Simonyan’s polling station is at school N5 after Mushegh Ishkhan, at the address of 107 Buzand.

Who spread the news and when?

Journalist Suzy Badoyan wrote in the early morning of June 20 (08:59)that NA Vice Speaker Alen Simonyan entered his polling station on Saryan Street in Yerevan, at the school after Andranik Margaryan, voted, left and began to greet people, shaking hands, standing there for about 15 minutes and not leaving the area. It was mentioned that the chairman of the commission did not interfere in the scene of the My Step propaganda, they did not remove the high-ranking official from the area, thus supporting the propaganda in favor of the Civil Contract party. This information was reproduced by ParaTV, Radio Aurora, AntiFake.am, Analitik.am, Alternativ.am, Armlur.am, Lurer.com, 168 hours and many more news sites. No video or photo confirming the information was published, despite the claim that Alen Simonyan was at the polling station for 15 minutes.

Alen Simonyan wrote about an hour later that the news spread by Suzy Badoyan did not correspond to reality: He has not voted yet, he lives next to the school after Andranik Margaryan and will be voting at Mushegh Ishkhan school at 11:00.

“At the moment of writing this post I am in the yard of St. Mary Mother Of God Church in Marash,” he wrote.

Alen Simonyan’s polling station is not really located on Saryan Street, in the school after Andranik Margaryan. His polling station is mentioned as 9/21 in the RA voter register.

This polling station is located in school N5 after Mushegh Ishkhanyan, at 107 Buzand street.

Attached is also Alen Simonyan ‘s polling station and the voting episode, downloaded from the CEC website. In the video, we see that the NA vice speaker is already in the 9/21 precinct from 11:19. His voting process takes about 6 minutes, after which he leaves.

Thus, Alen Simonyan could vote neither in the school after Andranik Margaryan, nor in the polling station of another area, as his polling station is 9/21, school N5 after Mushegh Ishkhanyan.

Ophelia Simonyan

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