Armenian authorities arrested six candidates for a pro-Russian opposition party on Saturday, a day before they were due to stand in general elections, state media reported, without giving any reason for the detentions.
The report said they were from the Strong Armenia party, led by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who is under house arrest on charges of calling for the overthrow of the government - accusations he rejects as politically motivated.
Polls suggest Strong Armenia has the support of between 6% and 11% of the electorate, putting it in second place behind Pashinyan’s ruling Civil Contract party, which has a substantial lead with between 24% and 32%.
Armenia’s Interior Ministry said earlier this week it had identified at least 78 cases of pre-election crimes and had detained 44 people, according to figures cited by Armenian media.
Pressure against Strong Armenia has been mounting ahead of Sunday’s vote.
At an extraordinary session held late on Friday, the Central Election Commission rejected a lawsuit filed by another opposition group to ban Strong Armenia from participating in the elections over accusations it was bribing voters and financing its campaign illegally, among other issues.