Senior representatives of former President Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) said on Friday that it should participate in forthcoming snap parliamentary elections.
The HHK, which retains the largest faction in the current Armenian parliament, has reluctantly dropped its objections to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s efforts to hold the elections in December, rather than next May or June. Observers believe that it is now too unpopular to make a strong showing in the vote.
The HHK’s executive body discussed the matter at a meeting late on Thursday chaired by Sarkisian. It announced no final decisions afterwards.
“We have not yet made a decision,” the HHK’s parliamentary leader, Vahram Baghdasarian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service on Friday. “Discussions are continuing.”
Baghdasarian said he and most other senior Republicans want their party to enter parliamentary race. “I think that participation [in the elections] is the right thing to do,” he said.
Baghdasarian cautioned, though, that the HHK leadership needs to evaluate its current approval rating and other “resources” before making a final decision.
Eduard Sharmazanov, the HHK spokesman and a deputy parliament speaker, also argued against boycotting the snap polls.
“It’s obvious that Pashinian is headed for victory and nobody can doubt it, at least at this stage,” Sharmazanov told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “And our state, our parliament, and our state system need a real opposition, not a fake opposition.”
“We think that both a strong opposition and a strong government are needed,” he said. “Or else, we will have a new political monopoly and no serious checks and balances. So we have to take part in the elections in order to be a real counterweight.”
Sharmazanov insisted that the HHK, which dominated Armenian politics for more than a decade, has been the country’s sole truly opposition force ever since Pashinian swept to power in May. “Everyone else applauds Pashinian, either overtly or not overtly,” he said.
Sarkisian has made very public appearances and statements since Pashinian-led mass protests forced him to resign in April. It is not yet clear whether he supports his party’s participation in the December elections and is ready to top its list of candidates.
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