ArmInfo. The defeat the Civil Contract party suffered in the December 5 local elections in Gyumri, Vanadzor, Meghri, Ararat and other regions is evidence of a considerable political decline of both the ruling party and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan over the last year, the political engineer Vigen Hakobyan told ArmInfo.
"In case of any alternative, the ruling party is faced with serious problems, including a complete defeat. And even in the communities the Civil Contract member won, they have to agree with the other political forces to form a coalition in the local government bodies," he said.
Such local election results will cause a "multiplicative effect" on Armenia`s domestic policy -the elections have shown that the Civil Contract party and Nikol Pashinyan himself lost their halo as an invincible force long ago and the premier`s word is not as effective now as it was just a year ago. And the local elections have proved a test of public sentiments.
The ruling party`s defeat in a number of communities is a serious blow on Armenia`s authorities, a disturbing signal. In this context, Hakobyan highlights changed public sentiments, as these can influence the foreign actors` stance.
"The external forces showing interest in Armenia to a certain extent are carefully analyzing the domestic situation in Armenia and changes inside the country. And since Armenia is actually being governed from outside now, it is the ambitions of and consensus by external political forces that to a great extent account for the domestic political configurations. I think it is an open secret that a consensus has been reached over Pashinyan`s power after the 44-day war and later regional transformations. And all the latest changes in the public perception of Armenia`s authorities cannot go unnoticed by those reaching the consensus," Hakobyan said.