Armenian political analyst warns of 'major losses' if Pashinyan remains in power

Armenian political analyst Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan said on Thursday that Armenia would face “major losses” if Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan remains in power after the June 7 parliamentary elections, accusing the ruling party of preparing to manipulate the vote.

Speaking to reporters outside the Anti-Corruption Court ahead of a hearing in the case involving former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Melik-Shahnazaryan said public trust in Pashinyan and the ruling Civil Contract party had collapsed.

“Society no longer accepts the policies pursued by Nikol Pashinyan and the ruling team has completely lost public trust,” he said.

The analyst claimed that the authorities had for months been taking steps aimed at falsifying the election results or creating conditions that would prevent the opposition from succeeding.

“The current leadership has no chance of winning re-election, but they do have the opportunity to falsify the elections,” he said. “They also have the ability to simply announce election results that suit them.”

Melik-Shahnazaryan further claimed that if Pashinyan were to declare favorable results, congratulatory messages from the United States and European countries would follow quickly.

He warned of scenarios similar to those seen in Moldova and Romania.

“If Pashinyan regains power after June 7, we will suffer major losses,” he said, predicting constitutional changes, more territorial concessions to Azerbaijan and a shift away from Armenia’s independent statehood. The analyst also warned of continued anti-church campaign and undermining of national values.