Having secured the agreement of parliamentary opposition parties Bright Armenia and Prosperous Armenia, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that elections will be held on 20 June.
Nikol Pashinyan made the announcement on Facebook, stating that he had met with Prosperous Armenia head Gagik Tsarukyan, who agreed that ‘the best way out of the domestic political situation is extraordinary parliamentary elections’.
Edmon Marukyan, the head of the second opposition party in parliament, Bright Armenia, had already agreed to hold parliamentary elections.
Tensions have been high in the country since a statement issued by the top officers in the Armed Forces on 25 February urging Pashinyan to resign. The Prime Minister described the statement as an attempted military coup. No other attempts by the army to enter politics have taken place since.
The Homeland Salvation Movement, the opposition group currently occupying Yerevan’s central Baghramyan Avenue in an ongoing protest, has opposed elections under Nikol Pashinyan, and has instead been demanding that former Armenian Prime Minister Vazgen Manukyan replace Pashinyan in a transitional government.
An Opposition protest in Yerevan on 2 March. Photo: Ani Avetisyan/OC Media.
Manukyan confirmed on Thursday that he would not take part in the elections but said his movement would make an announcement on their own decision after meeting to decide.
Polling by the International Republican Institute (IRI) conducted in February suggested that Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party was by far the most popular party, with 33% of respondents saying they would vote for them.
They were followed by Prosperous Armenia on 3%, Robert Kocharyan on 2%, and all others gaining only 1% or less.
However, a great deal of uncertainty remains as 42% answered that they would not vote for any party, while 14% answered ‘do not know’ or refused to answer.
Under Armenia’s current electoral code, parties must win at least 5% of votes in order to enter parliament, or 7% for blocs.
In order for snap elections to take place, Pashinyan must now resign in the coming days, after which parliament, which is controlled by Pashinyan’s party, will have two opportunities to select a new prime minister within two weeks. If Parliament fails to do so, it will automatically be dissolved and new elections called.
Robert Kocharyan, leader of Armenia’s largest opposition coalition and the country’s second president, has announced that he will not sit as an MP in Armenia’s parliament.
The leader of the Armenia Alliance wrote about his decision in a Facebook post on Monday, stressing that he had previously been a member of the parliaments of both Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia but ‘by virtue’ of his character he has ‘always been a person of executive power’.
‘By this step, I also express my consent with m
Armenia’s Constitutional court has denied the opposition’s request to annul the results of the 20 June snap parliamentary elections, following a week of deliberations.
The results were challenged by the Armenia Alliance, led by former President Robert Kocharyan, the I’m Honoured bloc, led by former National Security Service chief Artur Vanetsyan, and two minor parties.
In addition to requesting that the results be annulled, the four parties had also appealed for a recount of the number of se
Armenian authorities have reportedly forced officials with ties to the opposition, including village and city mayors, to resign. Some have also been criminally charged for violating electoral legislation during the snap parliamentary elections.
Since acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s landslide election victory on 20 June, politicians and local government officials connected with the opposition Armenia Alliance coalition, headed by Armenia’s ex-President Robert Kocharyan, have been force
On 20 June, Armenians voted overwhelmingly to reelect Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party to power. OC Media spoke to several opposition and civil society figures in Azerbaijan to find out their perceptions of the elections in Armenia.
At a press conference on Monday, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov responded to elections in neighbouring Armenia.
‘As it became known yesterday, early parliamentary elections were held in Armenia. A new government is expected to be formed’, he s
