Karapetian launched his Mer Dzevov (In Our Way) movement in late August two months after being arrested and prosecuted following his strong criticism of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s efforts to depose the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Garegin II. The movement, which claims to have attracted 20,000 members since then, will spawn soon a political party that will run in the showdown elections slated for June. It is expected to be one of Pashinian’s main challengers, even though Karapetian is not eligible for the post of prime minister because of his dual Russian citizenship.
Multiple Mer Dzevov sources told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that the tycoon’s nephew and right-hand man in Armenia, Narek Karapetian, will top the list of the election candidates of the party named Strong Armenia. The Mer Dzevov spokeswoman, Marianna Ghahramanian, did not deny or confirm the information.
“As Mr. Karapetian noted during his last press conference and in an interview with Public Television, we will announce our force's candidate for prime minister during the party's founding conference on February 12,” said Ghahramanian.
Narek Karapetian is increasingly promoting his movement’s activities and promises on social media. Economic issues are the main focus of his discourse.
“Today we see that for the first time in Armenia’s history we need to have economist leaders because the main problem facing our country is the economy,” the 35-year-old told Armenian Public Television late last week.
Mer Dzevov says a new government formed by it would create 300,000 jobs within a few years by helping to launch large-scale investment projects and exempting small businesses from all taxes. The opposition group has so far been vague on Armenian foreign and security policy favored by it and its positions on the conflict with Azerbaijan or relations with Russia. Samvel Karapetian and his political allies have said only that they would make Armenia much more secure.
The 60-year-old tycoon, who was born and raised in Armenia but has mainly lived in Russia since the early 1990s, was moved to house arrest against prosecutors’ wishes late last month. In another written statement issued on Monday, he again assured supporters that Pashinian and his “small clique” will be voted out of office in June. He claimed that they still hope to “stay in power at any cost.”
“I am confident that together, through consistent work, by uniting our society, we will not allow that to happen,” said Karapetian.
Pashinian has repeatedly expressed confidence that his Civil Contract party will win the forthcoming elections. Opposition leaders say recent months’ arrests of dozens of government critics, including Karapetian, suggest that Pashinian is actually afraid of losing them.