Chalabyan: The Armenian Voice Party intends to establish genuine public responsibility in Goris and Gavar

ArmInfo. The Armenian Voice party intends to establish genuine public responsibility in Goris and Gavar by participating in the local government elections. Avetik Chalabyan, coordinator of the Hayakve movement, announced this at a press conference in Yerevan on October 2.

He noted that this is the first time the Armenian Voice party will participate in the local government elections. "In these communities, we will be represented by new teams and new faces, with new ideas. "And most importantly, our intention is to bring true public responsibility to both communities," stated the coordinator of the Ayakve movement.

He recalled that the party had previously participated in the parliamentary elections on June 7, joining the leading opposition force, the Strong Armenia bloc. According to him, it was after this that the party came to the conclusion that new approaches were needed in the Armenian political arena. As Chalabyan explained, a fundamental ideology must be combined with direct contact with citizens, the ability to deeply understand and recognize their problems, concern for them, and responsibility to them.

"It is with this logic that we are beginning our election campaign in Gavar and Goris. In Goris, we are participating together with the Country for Life party as part of a bloc that will be called Voice for Life." In both cases, our goal is to bring new ideas, creative approaches, honest people, and genuine responsibility to these communities. This is only the beginning of our political activity. We will strive to achieve results in each of these communities, and then, using the same principle, continue our work in other communities where local government elections will be held and where teams will emerge that are ready to win the trust of our compatriots, secure their vote, and challenge the current government," he stated.

Menua Soghomonyan, chairman of the Armenian Voice party, noted that these elections are important to them because they intend to represent the will of Armenian citizens to prevent the further deepening of authoritarian tendencies in the country and advance the agenda of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. In this regard, he noted that they offer the communities an "alliance of civic will." "This means that by voting for us, you are expressing your disobedience to the agenda of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev, and we are expressing your will and are forming centers of democratic control specifically in these two communities," Soghomonyan explained. He called on citizens to actively participate in the local government elections in Goris and Gavar and to vote for the "Voice for Life" bloc in Goris. Soghomonyan recalled that in the Tumanyan community, due to the lack of opposition candidates, a representative of the Civil Contract party won. According to him, the "formal opposition" is also not participating in the elections in Goris and Gavar. "Therefore, your active participation is very important—the participation of those who do not accept the dictatorial agenda of the current leadership. It is important not to allow Pashinyan to use your social connections to legitimize his power. "Your vote is crucial to overcoming the current climate of fear and countering Aliyev's agenda aimed at dismantling the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC), imposing a specific Constitution on the country, and transferring Armenia's sovereign territories to Azerbaijan," concluded the chairman of the Armenian Voice party.

As a reminder, local government elections will be held in 46 communities in Armenia in the fall of 2026.