After meeting with the head of the Prosperous Armenia Party, Gagik Tsarukyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced the day when snap parliamentary elections would be held. He said, “During our meeting, we stated that the best way out of the current domestic political situation is to hold snap parliamentary elections. Taking into account the conversations I had with the President of Armenia, the My Step faction, and the leader of the Bright Armenia faction, Edmon Marukyan, snap parliamentary elections will be held on June 20th of this year in the Republic of Armenia.
Aravot Daily asked co-founder and former member of the Civil Contract political party Artur Hambardzumyan if snap parliamentary elections are truly the only way out of the current situation as Nikol Pashinyan believes.
“They started speaking about snap parliamentary elections when they were still hiding in bunkers and some people had escaped. In the future, when they left the bunkers and overcame some of their fears, they forgot about snap elections. They said that the people no longer demand these elections almost as if the people demanded snap elections in the past. After the events of February 25th, they once again pushed forth the idea of snap elections, and today, when the court decision was published according to which the decision to remove Onik Gasparyan from his position was illegal, Pashinyan announced the day of the snap elections only hours later. In other words, these authorities do not consider snap elections to be a way out of the current political crisis, but a way for the non-existent authorities- ones who only exist in their own sick minds- to stay in power,” Artur Hambardzumyan said.
When reminded that he said in a previous interview with Aravot Daily that it would be inappropriate to hold political campaigns now because Armenia has turned into a massive place of grief, he said, “Yes, you are right, that is what I said. I said and continue to believe that it is inappropriate to hold snap parliamentary elections in conditions of widespread tragedy, grief, and extreme divisions in society.”
Read also
What should we expect from the elections? What will the results be?
“If the Prime Minister does not resign from his position until June or if, in any case, the Prime Minister does not retract his decision, he will absolutely try to rig the election results. I simply want to remind people that this person allowed the results of primary elections within the political party to be rigged. This person falsified his own biography. He lied and tried to ruin everything constantly for two years,” Hambardzumyan said.
When asked if he believes that administrative resources will be used to maintain power and if, as those in power claim, the majority of society trusts them and there is still trust towards them, Artur Hambardzumyan responded, “There are no authorities in Armenia. Armenia does not have a government. Therefore, non-existent authorities cannot have or not have trust.”
Nune Arevshatyan
