Armenian expert on possible results of election processes in Armenia  in 2026

ArmInfo Political scientist and co-founder of the Alternative Projects group Vahe Hovhannisyan presented possible scenarios for the country's development in 2026, amid the upcoming parliamentary elections, and the steps that must be  taken to lead Armenia out of the current crisis.

According to him, the first scenario is a victory for the ruling  Civil Contract party and their program, which would encourage  Armenian society to continue to "adapt, renounce, eat, and  reproduce." "If this program wins, the ruling Civil Contract party  will force the next congress to shout 'Long live Western Azerbaijan'  three times, and the hall will repeat it. And all this will be  justified by the fact that if Azerbaijanis live in Armenia,  Azerbaijan will not attack us. And 'life will go on,'" Hovhannisyan  explained in a post distributed on the Alternative Projects Facebook  page.

As a result of the restoration of the current government in 2026 and  the promotion of this program, the political scientist continued, the  Turkish factor will penetrate every corner of the country, into  Armenian cities and villages, into culture, education, and way of  life. "Instead of Armenia, there will be a different country. This  will be accompanied by mass emigration, because tens of thousands of  families, hundreds of thousands of Armenians will not accept such an  Armenia. And they will have no choice but to leave. Others will live  here in their place as part of a 'peaceful resettlement program,'"  Hovhannisyan added. The political scientist then presented a second  scenario, one where there's no clear program, but rather a "large  Armenian vacuum." "Pashinyan has established a 'programmatic  monopoly' in the country and remains in power, counting on his own  self-reproduction. Meanwhile, society as a whole, like smaller  communities, remains undecided-about themselves, about their  families, about the future of the state. And it's precisely the set  of answers to these questions that constitutes a plan, or another  proposal. If it's absent, part of society will abandon the elections,  while others will choose a pleasant, destructive lie," the expert  believes.

In this vein, the political scientist noted that the country  essentially has those with experience, money, titles and positions,  and all three, but lacks a rational plan for rebuilding the country  after defeat, so that citizens will listen, trust, believe, and vote.  Hovhannisyan believes that in these circumstances, indifference and  mass despair are natural. According to him, the only way to stop the  current government from reproducing itself under these circumstances  is to imagine the opposite scenario.

"People want to hear and find out: if Trump's route is bad, then what  other, better option do you propose? If what was proposed on November  9th is bad, then what is your option? If the Constitution cannot be  changed, it's humiliating and dangerous, then what do you propose  instead? What are the real, rational solutions? People have dozens of  such questions. Furthermore, each social class has its own specific  questions.

Obviously, the Armenian prime minister's main lie is that this is a  'choice between peace and war,' and it requires counter-political  formulations. To stop the rapid Turkification of Armenia, it is  necessary to change the focus of the struggle," Hovhannisyan  asserted.

In particular, as the expert explained, it is necessary to encourage  society to engage in dialogue and restore the habit of listening to  one another. This, he said, could become a weapon for the opposition.

In conclusion, the political scientist urged the public not to harbor  illusions and not to think that some hero-new, former, old, or  rich-will emerge. "In a defeated country, such fairytale heroes don't  exist. We need to speak openly and intelligently to our own society,  presenting our program without a moralizing tone. We need to show  initiative, present new ideas, unconventional yet realistic  solutions, taking the current agenda into account. Our group will  focus on precisely this in the near future," Hovhannisyan concluded.