ANC Deputy Chairman: Pashinyan intends to use snap elections as a tool to blackmail the opposition

ArmInfo. Talk of snap elections in Armenia is a tool for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to blackmail the opposition.

This opinion was expressed by Levon Zurabyan, Deputy Chairman of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) party, in light of Pashinyan's statement about possible snap elections in the country if a new constitution is not adopted. "On October 22, the Armenian Prime Minister conducted a master class in mocking the citizens of his own country. He announced his new mission, which he called his primary one, declaring that if it is not fulfilled, he will consider his political activity exhausted. This mission, in his own words, consists of amending the Armenian Constitution to suit Azerbaijan, signing and ratifying a peace treaty with Baku, and establishing a final peace. Essentially, this is a kind of sincere admission that Pashinyan's entire election campaign was built on two fundamental deceptions. We talked about this during the election race, but now Pashinyan himself admits it," Zurabyan recalled.

The first deception, according to him, was that Pashinyan claimed that peace with Azerbaijan had already been achieved, and it was precisely on this thesis that he collected votes among the population. Now, as the politician noted, he himself admits that peace has not yet been established; moreover, achieving it is his main goal, which he intends to achieve by 2031. "He scared us with the second lie: 'I am still saying: there will be a war in September, a catastrophic war, if the Civil Contract party...'" "will not receive a constitutional majority." But September passed quietly, October is coming to an end, and there is still no war. Not to mention that the first and second statements directly contradict each other, and it was clear from the outset that at least one of them was an absolute lie. Now it turns out that both statements are false, and the main proof of this are Pashinyan's own public statements," the ANC deputy chairman noted.

In this regard, according to him, another thing also becomes obvious: Pashinyan's words have no connection with reality. "And if there is a connection, it is only that in matters concerning our fate, Pashinyan has turned lies into the main tool for strengthening his power. In other words, Pashinyan is using the unresolved conflict with Azerbaijan and the associated threats as a tool for blackmailing Armenian citizens and establishing an authoritarian regime. Talk of snap elections is, in fact, also a tool of blackmail. However, this time, it concerns the opposition, since, in Pashinyan's view, the persecuted and significantly weakened opposition will not be able to offer him serious resistance in the new elections. He hopes that, fearing even worse results, they will agree to his proposal to adopt a new Constitution," Zurabyan noted.

At the same time, the politician doesn't believe there are "fools" in the opposition who will fall for this bluff. "New elections, in a situation where economic ties with the EAEU are being severed due to his short-sighted and adventurous policies, and in a situation where we are facing the threat of a renewed US-Iranian war—this time involving Azerbaijan—will only expose Pashinyan's glaring failures on all fronts. "Therefore, Pashinyan, long live new snap elections, which will give our country the opportunity to rid itself of the main threat to our national security – the rule of Nikol Pashinyan, Aliyev's viceroy," the ANC deputy chairman concluded.

It should be noted that during a briefing on October 22, the Armenian Prime Minister did not rule out holding snap parliamentary elections if the parliamentary opposition is unable to vote for the decision to submit the new Constitution to a referendum.

As a reminder, following the results of the regular parliamentary elections in Armenia held on June 7, 2026, the Civil Contract party has a 3/5 majority, which allows it to pass constitutional laws and make appointments. However, the party does not have the 2/3 majority necessary to directly amend the Armenian Constitution. It should be added that since the occupation of Artsakh, Baku has frequently demanded changes to the Armenian Constitution, citing its alleged territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan presents the fulfillment of these and other demands as a precondition for concluding a "peace treaty."