Much has been said—and much more will be said—about the leading contenders in the recent parliamentary elections. If one is inclined to find any positive aspects in what, from Pashinyan’s side, was essentially an exercise in usurping power, it is worth noting that Narek Karapetyan, who headed the Strong Armenia list, managed within just a few months to acquire considerable experience and political skills and now presents himself as a fully fledged politician.
Today, however, I would like to focus on the forces that failed to enter parliament.
Three parties—the Republic Party (1.08% according to the preliminary results), the For The Republic Party (0.46%), and the Christian Democratic Party (0.18%)—participated in the election solely for the purpose of supporting Pashinyan. The use of “doubles” is a well-established electoral tactic. I recall that during Russia’s 1996 presidential election, the main opposition candidate, Gennady Zyuganov, had his own “double” in the form of communist politician Aman Tuleyev, who was also a registered candidate and echoed the principal talking points of his party leader throughout the campaign.
In our case, the role of these satellite parties was to frighten voters with Russia, Putin, and the spectre of a criminal-oligarchic system. That multiplied propaganda effort probably contributed something to Pashinyan’s result, but I doubt it played a decisive role. Pashinyan’s electorate has already been thoroughly conditioned by tales of Armenia becoming a “province,” and additional injections of the same narrative hardly seemed necessary.
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It is, of course, regrettable that Wings of Unity (2.30%) and Bright Armenia (0.50%) failed to enter parliament. One reason, in my view, is that they faced active campaigning not only from the authorities but also from certain opposition circles. A lack of resources also played a role. In circumstances like these, forming broader political alliances may be the more effective strategy.
The idea behind the “Against Everyone” movement was undoubtedly sound from an electoral strategy standpoint: people have grown tired of the traditional political forces. Nina Karapetyants, whose public image is unequivocally positive, together with a group of original and creative young activists, managed to secure a relatively strong result (1.47%).
Many observers suspected that the Gratitude Party (2.11%) was likewise a reserve project of the authorities. Personally, I have never heard any overtly pro-Pashinyan statements from Gurgen Simonyan. At the same time, the party’s number two candidate, Eduard Antinyan, actively promoted what was essentially a Pashinyan-style anti-Artsakh narrative.
I have never concealed my sympathy for the Armenian National Congress, which received very few votes (0.22%). For now, serious political texts, programmes, and ideas remain out of fashion. Yet the ANC includes many intelligent and thoughtful young people. Who knows—perhaps they will be the ones to launch a new democratic movement.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
