Philippe Raffi Kalfayan - IODA's Second Mission and Armenia's Dire Election Climate | Ep 554, Jun 4, 2026 [EP554]
Scheduled for Thursday, Jun 4, 2026 | Series: cog
Groong Links:
Guest(s):
Topics:
- Arrests of government critics
- State pressure on voters
- Public resources used for campaigns
- Selective prosecution before elections
- Election legitimacy under serious doubt
Episode 554 | Recorded: June 3, 2026
#Armenia #ArmenianElections #Election2026 #IODA #OSCE #ODIHR #Geopolitics #Democracy
Show Notes
Summary
In this episode of Conversations on Groong, we speak with Dr. Philippe Raffi Kalfayan about Armenia’s deteriorating democratic conditions ahead of the 2026 Armenian Parliamentary Election. We discuss IODA’s second election observation mission, widespread arrests of opposition figures, state intimidation of voters, selective prosecution, and the serious threats to electoral legitimacy and civil rights under the Civil Contract regime.Wrap-up
Links and Resources
That’s our show, we hope you found it helpful. We invite your feedback and your suggestions, you can find us on most social media and podcast platforms.
Thanks to Laura Osborn for the music on our podcasts.
Guests
Philippe Raffi Kalfayan
Dr. Philippe Kalfayan is Legal Counsel and lecturer/researcher at the Paris Pantheon Assas Univ./Paris Human Rights Center. He is Assistant Judge HCR at the National Court for Asylum Rights. He served as secretary general of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and as Legal Expert for the Council of Europe’s Directorate General for Human Rights and Rule of Law. He has authored La France et l’Imprescriptibilité des Crimes Internationaux (Pedone 2015) and La Réparation des Préjudices en Lien avec les Crimes Historiques (TBR Pedone April 2026). He has been involved in institutional reforms and strategic projects in the Republic of Armenian for the last 30 years.
Hosts
Hovik Manucharyan
Hovik Manucharyan is an information security engineer who moved from Seattle to Armenia in 2022. He co-founded the ANN/Groong podcast in 2020 and has been a contributor to Groong News since the late 1990s.
Disclaimer: The views expressed by Hovik Manucharyan on the ANN/Groong podcast are his own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of his employer or any other organization.
Asbed Bedrossian
Asbed Bedrossian is an IT professional, and for years oversaw the central IT enterprise infrastructure and services at USC. His decades of experience spanned across IT strategy, enterprise architecture, infrastructure, cybersecurity, enterprise applications, data center operations, high performance computing, ITSM, ITPM, and more.
Asbed founded the Armenian News Network Groong circa 1989/1990, and co-founded the ANN/Groong podcast in 2020.
