Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, opposition lawmakers described as “blackmail” recent statements by Pashinian that Armenia could face another “disastrous” war “very soon” unless his ruling Civil Contract party secures a strong majority in the June 7 vote.
“This is already a crime,” said Artsvik Minasian of the Hayastan faction. “It is a threat designed to influence people’s will, which is prohibited and is a criminally punishable act.”
Minasian called on Armenia’s prosecutor-general to open an investigation into what he described as actions undermining the country’s sovereignty. He argued that invoking the possibility of war amounts to coercion of voters.
“The free expression of the will is one of the important elements of democracy,” Minasian said. “When he [Pashinian] challenges the will of the people by invoking a probable war, that is, with possible violence, he is already committing a crime against sovereignty.”
Another opposition lawmaker, Taguhi Tovmasian from the Pativ Unem faction, also condemned what she described as intimidation of voters. She said the issue should draw attention not only within Armenia but also from international organizations.
“If we were a truly democratic country, and the Central Election Commission of Armenia weren’t a subsidiary of the ruling party, but a truly independent body, it would already have been established that there is an act of violence against the will of the citizens of Armenia,” Tovmasian said. She characterized the alleged pressure as a form of blackmail.
Tovmasian said that while past electoral fraud involved ballot stuffing, the government is now influencing voters through warnings of renewed conflict. She called on international bodies to register what she described as violations of voters’ free choice.
Pashinian and his allies have rejected the criticism, saying they are making political statements that reflect what they see as realistic risks facing Armenia if opposition forces come to power.
In a live video broadcast on Sunday, Pashinian said he had previously been criticized for failing to inform the public about the real situation before the 2020 war and suggested he was now doing exactly what his opponents once faulted him for not doing.
The prime minister has accused his opponents of planning to revise the current peace with Azerbaijan if they win the elections. He specifically named political forces associated with former President Robert Kocharian, Russian-Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetian, and businessman Gagik Tsarukian.
“I want to say this very directly that [if they win] it will be a war with the loss of not only territory but also sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia,” Pashinian said last week.
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan also warned in parliament of the risk of war if the ruling party is not reelected, citing what he described as territorial claims toward neighboring countries advocated by opposition parties.
Minasian rejected that assertion, saying the opposition is instead focused on securing international guarantees for the “safe and dignified” return of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Armenian government has not raised the issue of the return of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians who fled Nagorno-Karabakh following Azerbaijan’s military recapture of the region in 2023. Pashinian has said that doing so could hinder the current peace agenda and has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev not to raise the issue of ethnic Azeris who left Armenia amid tensions at the start of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in the late 1980s.
Opposition leaders also say they support peace but argue it should include clear security guarantees from major international actors. They have criticized the peace deal initialed by Armenia and Azerbaijan in Washington last year for lacking such guarantees.
Pashinian has dismissed those concerns, maintaining that Armenia’s primary security guarantee lies in its internationally recognized “legitimate” borders, with diplomacy and military strength serving as supporting factors.
He has also warned against trying to renegotiate the deal, arguing that any such attempt will inevitably lead to a new war.