Analyst: Pashinyan promoting three narratives ahead of parliamentary elections

Political analyst Suren Surenyants says Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is preparing for the 2026 parliamentary elections by advancing three narratives he intends to “sell” to the public.

Speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday, Surenyants identified the first narrative as the government’s promise to recover stolen assets, adding the opposition's task should be to demonstrate that Pashinyan himself is closely linked to corruption. “There’s fertile ground for that – cases like ANIF are clear examples,” he said.

The second narrative centers on Pashinyan’s peace agenda. Surenyants criticized the opposition for failing to challenge it effectively, claiming that Pashinyan is not a peacemaker but rather a “provocateur of war”.

The third narrative involves Armenia’s EU membership aspirations, which Surenyants dismissed as a “bluff". He cited Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan’s remarks at last week's joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as evidence.

The analyst also reflected on the missed opportunity for regime change in 2021, attributing it to both post-war uncertainty and the opposition’s lack of strategy. Looking ahead, he sees little potential for change of power through impeachment and believes the momentum for snap elections has already been lost.

Still, he emphasized that regular parliamentary elections remain a realistic path to political change. “Populist regimes are most vulnerable in elections. The 2026 elections could offer the opposition a genuine opportunity, as I see little chance for the current government’s re-election,” Surenyants added.