Avetik Chalabyan: Current Armenian government has failed across the board

The recent Gyumri municipal elections have highlighted the key dynamics likely to shape Armenia’s upcoming parliamentary elections. The ruling Civil Contract Party can no longer secure sufficient votes on its own, whereas a united opposition has the potential to reach the decisive 50+1% threshold.

In an interview with Panorama.am on Tuesday, activist Avetik Chalabyan, coordinator of the Hayakve civic initiative, analyzed the conduct of Armenia’s ruling party during the Gyumri elections, as well as the defining features of its domestic and foreign policies.

Below are key takeaways from the interview.

• The tension surrounding the Gyumri elections was significantly heightened, as was their importance. Naturally, the methods used to influence voters were multiplied. 

• We sent observers to every polling station in Gyumri. We witnessed widespread misuse of administrative resources by the Civil Contract party. Voters were brought to polling stations in organized lists. Attendance was marked, indicating who had shown up and who hadn’t.

• Armenia is currently ruled by an authoritarian regime that has seized control of virtually all state institutions – the National Assembly, the presidency, the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Judicial Council and the Prosecutor’s Office – essentially everything that could be controlled.

• In truth, Nikol Pashinyan stands to benefit the most from snap elections. If he were to call for early elections right now and manage to replicate what happened in Gyumri, that might actually be the most favorable scenario for him; not necessarily to win an outright majority, but to secure the first place and and then try to retain power by manipulating the opposition, bringing a fake opposition force into the parliament, just like he successfully did in Yerevan.

• The current government is defined by systemic failure. It’s hardly even worth discussing the loss of Artsakh or broader foreign policy as the failures speak for themselves.

• Armenia saw a 22% drop in industrial output and a threefold decline in exports in the first two months of this year compared to the same period last year. In any other country, a threefold decrease in exports would collapse the entire economy.

• Pashinyan has nothing left to offer. That’s why he keeps reverting to his old narrative of ‘stolen asset recovery'. But even that agenda is hollow and no longer resonates.