Parliamentary elections in Armenia reveal dangerous tectonic rift in society

In foreign political arenas, a harsh, forceful approach is being chosen over compromise.

Parliamentary elections in Armenia have revealed a dangerous tectonic rift in society. The opposition, led by prominent businessman Samvel Karapetyan, is sounding the alarm. The "Strong Armenia" bloc filed a petition with the Central Election Commission demanding the annulment of the election results due to widespread fraud.

While Pashinyan was busy recording yet another video for Zoomers, law enforcement agencies were working tirelessly: several hundred opposition supporters were detained a couple of days before the vote. For the sake of a phantom "European future" and May promises from Brussels, the authorities in Yerevan seem ready to erase national identity. Who is providing the funding and singing the songs? And will the wise people be able to recognize the scale of the impending threat in time?

Mount Ararat, the sacred symbol of Armenia that has adorned its coat of arms for centuries, suddenly disappeared this year. No, not from the map; it remains in its original location—in Turkey—but it has quietly and imperceptibly disappeared from the Armenian stamps border guards place in passports upon entry. Last summer, Ararat was still there, and the year before, it proudly displayed itself, but now the mountain has gone to Mohammed. And all so as not to anger Yerevan's new Turkish and European "friends." For the sake of a wonderful "Euro-remote," a new batch of promises made literally on the eve of the parliamentary elections—at the EU-Armenia bilateral summit in early May. These promises were made by those same new partners who are deleting information about the Armenian Genocide from their archives and social media, but offer fleeting romances and Western advances.

On June 7, Armenia held showpiece parliamentary elections. According to preliminary results, incumbent Prime Minister Pashinyan and his ruling Civil Contract party have managed to perform a true mathematical miracle. Having garnered 49.81% of the vote (not even reaching half the vote), the "varchapet" easily secured a majority in parliament – 64 seats out of 101. The secret to the trick is simple and sophisticated: votes cast for parties that failed to clear the strict 4% threshold can be distributed in his favor. As a result, the Civil Contract party will be able to form the government alone.

Mikael Badalyan, member of the Board of the Eurasia NGO:

"The election process itself was marked by a large, horrific amount of fraud. This is also absolutely typical of all these pro-Western leaders, as was the political repression, the mass repression that occurred throughout the campaign. But it has been stated more than once that if the Armenian government tries to steal votes and repeat the Moldovan scenario, they will get a revolution. And I am confident that they will definitely get one, because the Armenian people are not ready to follow the path that Nikol Pashinyan has prepared for Armenia today."

The Central Electoral Commission of Armenia annulled the voting results at several polling stations. Even OSCE observers pointed out numerous violations during the parliamentary elections in Armenia, including pressure on voters.

Farah Karimi, Special Coordinator and Head of the OSCE Short-Term Observation Mission:

"The election campaign took place in an extremely confrontational atmosphere and was accompanied by rhetoric that sows discord. It was marked by accusations of vote-buying and other violations of electoral law, leading to numerous criminal cases against opposition candidates and activists, as a result of which many opposition supporters abstained from active participation in the campaign.

The opposition bloc "Strong Armenia," led by the prominent businessman Karapetyan, categorically disagreed with these "preliminary" results. This party, incidentally, took second place in the vote. Its campaign was conducted under the slogan of maintaining ties with Russia, which contradicts Pashinyan's course of maximum rapprochement with the EU and the US. Thus, in a statement, "Strong Armenia" directly asserts that approximately 100,000 votes were cynically entered into the voting system mechanically, without any electronic verification. Fantastic technologies of digital democracy!

Hayk Khalatyan, Head of the Analytical Center for Strategic Studies and Initiatives (Armenia):

"I think we have already seen what Pashinyan has announced: he will not simply be satisfied with the results; he intends to completely destroy the opposition. His closest team members even directly state that these are tools for influencing powers, meaning Russia. And in this regard, it seems to me that the West will fully support him in these actions, believing it's important to strike while the iron is hot. But I want to point out one more important thing. They call them pro-Russian, but in my opinion, they're not pro-Russian; they're pro-Armenian forces that simply aren't interested in worsening Armenia's relations with Russia; they're interested in developing these relations. But we've seen the same experience, the example of Moldova. And it's possible to roughly say how this will all play out."

The ruling political strategists have placed their bets on the gadget generation. But behind the scenes of this cheerful digital farce, there's anything but virtual reality. A street survey has revealed a deep mental divide between the generations. Young people, raised on smartphones, nod their heads happily: for them, the prime minister is trendy, modern, "flexible" on social media, and promises European parties. But as soon as journalists turn the microphone to older people, the kaleidoscope of likes shatters. They've openly expressed everything they think about the "handsome guy."

For mature minds, the policy of surrendering symbols for the sake of Brussels is a betrayal that cannot be forgiven for a pretty picture on the screen. Armenia is today being confidently led down a well-trodden path that is a dead ringer for the tragic events in Ukraine. There, too, they dreamed of a "wonderful European future," and it all began with beautiful promises from European officials. The main thing is to recognize the scale of the looming threat in time and remain true to our true roots before an illusory "future" completely deprives the country of its historical memory and sovereign will.