The results showed billionaire Samvel Karapetian’s Strong Armenia alliance and the Hayastan bloc led by former President Robert Kocharian finishing second and third in the elections and winning 29 and 12 seats respectively. According to them, no other opposition force cleared the 4 percent vote threshold for entering the 105-member National Assembly.
Strong Armenia and Hayastan faced calls from many opposition supporters to boycott the parliament and thus further undermine its legitimacy. Their leaders opted against a boycott in widely anticipated decisions announced on Sunday and Monday.
“We believe that in the upcoming difficult struggle, we must use all possible means to combat the government's anti-state programs. The parliament seat is a weapon, and voluntarily giving it up would be irresponsible towards our state and our voters,” read a statement released by Hayastan.
For his part, Karapetian’s nephew Narek, who coordinates Strong Armenia’s activities, argued that opposition presence in the parliament would facilitate antigovernment street protests which he said will be staged “when we see a possibility of change approaching.”
“For significant change to occur in Armenia, two important things are needed: street struggle and strong opposition involvement in the National Assembly,” he said. “This combination will bring about significant change.”
Narek Karapetian also stressed that Strong Armenia does not recognize the legitimacy of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s election victory despite taking up its parliament seats.
Strong Armenia again alleged “mass vote irregularities” in a joint statement with Hayastan and three other opposition parties issued on Saturday a few hours after the Constitutional Court rejected opposition appeals against the official election results. It said that the ruling will only deepen the “profound political and constitutional crisis” in the country.
“This decision of the Constitutional Court is not the end of the struggle but the beginning of a new, more systematic, institutional and large-scale phase of political resistance,” added the joint statement.
Its five signatories agreed on the need to thwart Pashinian’s plans to enact a new Armenian constitution demanded by Azerbaijan, ensure the release of all “political prisoners” and remove him from power. They said they are continuing to negotiate on a plan of joint actions to that end.
Pashinian and his political allies deny the vote-rigging claims. They say that the main opposition election contenders themselves secured hundreds of thousands of votes through vote bribes.