The discussions about a “political monopoly” and an “autocratic government” will likely grow tense in the coming weeks. There’s meaning in such discussions, I think, but only partial. An autocratic government where the majority of people reject it and an autocratic government where over 80 percent of people accept it are two different things. But even in this situation, if the government does not have any opposition, that will cause serious outcomes for both the state and for the government.
The political system didn’t stabilize in Armenia, first and foremost because elections after 1995 were rigged. There are virtually no political parties within us, regardless of whether they’re 15 or 115 years old. “Civil Contract” does not exist as a political party; there’s only Nikol Pashinyan, who drove “bad people” out of the government, that’s why he enjoys the love of the people and now will do something good for this people. But despite the fact that society’s opinion doesn’t support the strengthening of a political party system, it’s unnecessary to collapse. People who either are already participating in the political process or people who have such goals need to think about where they want to start. Getting rid of everyone and opening a new page isn’t realistic (however, in the case of the RPA, it’s more realistic to restructure it and to bring in new people, creating a new force with the PAM-ANC model).
The parliament needs to dissolve and there need to be new parliamentary elections, which will have as believable results as the Yerevan City Council elections. I also don’t doubt that Nikol Pashinyan and his political force will form an alliance and will win in a major landslide, which will cause both positive and negative outcomes.
But it’s wrong to place our hopes solely on politicians and on current and future political parties. I think that society, commentators, and analysts shouldn’t only want a single-sided government, just as most do today. For example, if the police invaded any news outlet, can you imagine what lawyers’ and non-governmental organizations’ reactions would have been? Or if the “former regime” sent a mission to Syria alongside Russia? Therefore, the roles of society and the media in this current period are very important. I assure you, friends, that glorifying every one of Pashinyan’s actions isn’t doing him any good.
Aram Abrahamyan
