Yesterday, Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC) approved the Prosecutor General’s Office’s request to strip Narek Karapetyan, who headed the Strong Armenia party’s electoral list, of his parliamentary immunity.
By a decision adopted by the CEC the previous day, Karapetyan had received a parliamentary mandate. Legal experts will determine what legal procedures are required as the situation develops further.
Looking at the political dimension of the issue, I believe there is little doubt that what is taking place is not a legal initiative, but a politically motivated move carried out through legal instruments.
And the motive, in my view, is the following: to do everything possible to push the opposition—especially Strong Armenia, currently the leading force within the opposition camp—away from a rational approach to political activity and into a politics driven largely by provocation and emotion, where any long-term strategy is inevitably lost.
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What has been troubling Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan since the election is precisely the fact that the opposition has not surrendered to the emotions of the moment, but has instead been guided by a longer-term calculation and a sober approach. This is precisely what unsettles the ruling establishment, and the ruling establishment, in turn, is keeping the opposition under constant pressure.
But, of course, the opposition’s sober approach must take all of this into account. If the opposition operates on the assumption that Nikol Pashinyan will simply leave it alone, that would be a serious strategic miscalculation. In my view, the opposition is not naïve enough to make such an error.
Therefore, one should assume that it has the intention and the determination to continue its political activity through a calm and calculated approach, built on long-term strategic planning and a structured political course.
Armenia needs this. For Armenia, it is a necessity. Indeed, this may well be the country’s only chance, because the ruling force today finds itself in a situation—including on the international front—where, even with the best of intentions, it no longer has the capacity to create a meaningful opportunity for Armenia.
Hakob BADALYAN
