Narek Karapetyan: Strong Armenia to take mandates and enter Armenian  Parliament

ArmInfo.  Samvel Karapetyan's "Strong Armenia" opposition bloc has decided to take parliamentary mandates and participate in the work of the National Assembly of Armenia.   Narek Karapetyan, a member of the "Strong Armenia" opposition bloc's  Politburo and the number one candidate on the bloc's electoral list,  announced this on his Facebook page.

According to him, parliamentary representation will be combined with  extra-parliamentary struggle. "We will call on people to take to the  streets when we see an opportunity for change. That is why we have  decided to take mandates and ensure our presence in the National  Assembly, which will further support the street struggle," Karapetyan  said.

He also stated that, in his assessment, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol  Pashinyan has lost the trust of the majority of citizens for the  first time and lacks a strong popular mandate. Karapetyan accused the  authorities of using administrative resources during the elections  and stated that the ruling party failed to achieve a constitutional  majority following the country's electoral processes.

According to the number one candidate on the "Strong Armenia" list,  the bloc believes that Armenian voters voted against the current  government's policies, including the course toward amending the  Constitution, the campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church,  and, as he put it, concessions to the detriment of national  interests.

Karapetyan also stated that, in the bloc's view, Samvel Karapetyan  would have become prime minister of Armenia in a truly free and  competitive election. He further emphasized that the political force  intends to continue the struggle, hoping for victory in the upcoming  municipal elections and a subsequent democratic change of power.

Responding to criticism regarding the decision to accept mandates,  Karapetyan cited the example of Georgia, where part of the opposition  had previously refused to accept mandates. He recalled that after the  2024 parliamentary elections, the Georgian opposition resigned its  mandates, hoping to create a legitimacy crisis for the ruling party,  which received approximately 53% of the vote. However, according to  Karapetyan, the result was the opposite: the absence of an opposition  in parliament only strengthened the government's position, and the  ruling party's approval rating rose to a record 56% by 2026.

As a reminder, the Strong Armenia opposition bloc secured the support  of just over 340,000 voters in the 2026 parliamentary elections.  According to preliminary data, the political force will receive 29  seats in the country's parliament.