Ex-president Ter-Petrosyan accuses government of cutting his power and water for political reasons
The office of Armenia’s first President Levon Ter-Petrosyan has accused the authorities of deliberately cutting electricity and water to his residence for over 24 hours. The power outage followed multiple statements by Ter-Petrosyan calling for the establishment of an opposition coalition with Russian–Armenian tycoon Samvel Karapetyan.
Ter-Petrosyan’s office reported on Monday that electricity and water to his residence and office have been cut off since Sunday afternoon.
Following the outage, ‘dozens of calls’ from his security to the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), the country’s main power grid operator, were met with promises that power would be restored ‘in an hour.’
‘Dozens of hours have passed, yet nothing has changed to this day. Meanwhile, almost all the houses and buildings around the residence are flooded with light’, his office claimed.
It further accused the Armenian authorities of ordering the power cut, suggesting that the ENA ‘would not have dared’ to commit such an act ‘without instructions’.
The ENA is owned by Karapetyan’s Tashir Group, but is undergoing a nationalisation process and is currently headed by a state-appointed representative.
‘This is not an ordinary accident, but a manifestation of ongoing sadism directed at the first president and his family’, the statement concluded.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
The ENA and Armenian authorities have yet to respond to the accusations as of publication.
Ter-Petrosyan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan are former allies; together they led a series of protests following the 2008 presidential election. In 2012, Pashinyan was elected as an MP representing Ter-Petrosyan’s Armenian National Congress Alliance.
Ties between the two sharply deteriorated since 2025, with both sides exchanging harsh criticism and accusations.
Ter-Petrosyan has also voiced support for the Armenian Apostolic Church amid a confrontation with Pashinyan ongoing since May 2025.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
The power outage report came after Ter-Petrosyan made multiple statements expressing sympathy for Karapetyan and calling for urgent coalition-building with him.
In a Facebook post in February, Ter-Petrosyan said that negotiations among opposition parties ‘have not led to any agreement’ following months of talks. He added that in the current situation ‘the only force capable of uniting the fragmented opposition is Samvel Karapetyan’.
Over a week later, Ter-Petrosyan accused Pashinyan of having ‘Western masters’ who would view Karapetyan’s victory ‘as a restoration of Russian influence in Armenia, which in no way fits into their long-term plans’.
‘Therefore, they will try to do everything possible to prevent such a development, ignoring the fact that the exclusive right to choose their own government belongs to the people’, he said.
An opposition coalition ahead of the elections?
On Saturday, Ter-Petrosyan’s Armenian National Congress party held a congress attended by other opposition forces, including Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia party and Country to Live party, affiliated with the Nagorno-Karabakh’s former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan.
Vardanyan is currently serving a 20-year sentence on war crimes charges in Azerbaijan. He has maintained his innocence.
On the same day, Armenian National Congress representative Levon Zurabyan assessed the speeches of the opposition representatives in their party congress, saying that consolidation among the opposition ‘is quite realistic’.
In turn, Strong Armenia’s representative Alexan Alexanyan told reporters that talks among the opposition ‘are ongoing’ and promised to provide additional statements if any cooperation was established.
Karapetyan, who faces multiple charges in Armenia following his support for the Church amid its confrontation with Pashinyan’s government, has been named the prime ministerial candidate of his newly formed Strong Armenia party.
The announcement sparked controversy, as he is ineligible for the role under current legislation due to holding multiple passports.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
Other main candidates declaring their participation in the elections include former President Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance, the largest opposition faction in the current Armenian Parliament, as well as tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan, leader of the Prosperous Armenia party, who has vowed to build a political ‘Noah’s Ark’.
The former ruling Republican Party and its leader, former president Serzh Sargsyan, ousted during the 2018 Velvet Revolution, have yet to declare whether they will participate in the elections.
Civil Contract, which vowed to secure a constitutional majority in the elections, also warned that the opposition intends to come to power through a coalition formed after the vote.
On Friday, the Anti-Corruption Court prolonged Karapetyan’s house arrest for another month. Following the court ruling, his party announced on Saturday morning that the ruling ‘proves how much Nikol Pashinyan fears Samvel Karapetyan’.
They also announced the launch of a ‘coordinated campaign’ including ‘local and international steps’.
