Homeland Party to skip parliamentary elections

Armenia’s Homeland Party has announced its decision to skip the June parliamentary elections, citing deep political polarization and the risk of fragmenting opposition votes.

In a statement issued after a February 26 meeting of its executive body, the party said it had reviewed Armenia’s domestic political situation, internal and external challenges and developments ahead of the pre-election period.

The party said a change of government remained a “top priority” aligned with the state’s strategic interests, arguing that the political environment continued to be marked by acute tensions and entrenched polarization, without a unifying national ideology or clear value framework.

It also criticized weak mechanisms of legal and moral accountability within state institutions, saying they failed to provide effective checks and balances. Political processes, it added, continued to operate outside institutional logic, hindering prospects for stable state development.

The Homeland Party said its ideological foundations and strategic vision for Armenia’s future differed from those of other political forces, making the formation of an electoral alliance unrealistic.

The party further warned that an increase in the number of opposition groups contesting the elections could split votes and lead to inefficient use of political resources, potentially harming the opposition’s overall performance.

Summing up its position, the executive body decided not to participate in the 2026 parliamentary elections and urged its members and supporters to back any “genuine opposition force” of their choice.

The party said it would continue its development efforts and might comment further on the decision after the election results are finalized, adding that it did not want to create conditions that could harm opposition forces before the vote.