Activist says impeachment remains only viable tool for change of power in Armenia

Armenian public activist Narek Malyan claims that impeachment remains the only viable mechanism for a change of power in Armenia, criticising opposition forces for avoiding responsibility and replacing concrete political action with symbolic protests.

In a social media post on Friday, Malyan said that over the past five years impeachment has been “the only real instrument” capable of producing a political resolution, contrasting it with street demonstrations that he characterised as lacking clear objectives or outcomes.

“Unlike aimless torchlight marches, impeachment envisages a very concrete political settlement,” Malyan wrote, adding that the process would require the opposition to assume responsibility both for the course of events and their results.

He accused much of the opposition of deliberately avoiding such responsibility, instead opting for what he called “imitation processes” whose predictable failure could later be blamed on the public.

According to Malyan, similar narratives are likely to emerge after June 9, including claims that the public did not vote, failed to take to the streets, or was not sufficiently persuaded of the government’s shortcomings.

Malyan further claimed that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s opponents have long abandoned the goal of changing power, replacing it with a struggle for political relevance and influence.