Armen Ashotyan accuses government of deepening crisis, election manipulation

Armenian opposition politician Armen Ashotyan on Thursday accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government of worsening the country’s political and security crisis and manipulating the electoral process ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for June.

“The situation in the country and around it is deteriorating,” Ashotyan, deputy chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), told reporters outside the Anti-Corruption Court before a hearing in the trial of former President Serzh Sargsyan. “The current authorities have once again proved incapable of meeting either internal or external challenges.”

Ashotyan charged that the government was abusing administrative resources and engaging in “unprecedented pre-election fraud,” citing the pension increase and amendments to the Electoral Code a few months before the vote. He said the opposition had “many allies” in the public sector who support an impeachment effort against Pashinyan.

His comments followed a statement by the RPA warning that continued government actions posed risks to Armenia’s sovereignty and constitutional order. The party said that if current trends continue, the June 2026 elections “cannot be recognized as free, fair and democratic”, urging opposition forces and civil society to unite around impeachment and the formation of a transitional government.

Ashotyan insisted the RPA’s initiative would resonate beyond his party. “We believe the arguments we set out in yesterday’s statement will not leave our political partners indifferent,” he said.