Samvel Karapetyan's party vows change amid extension of his house arrest

Armenia’s opposition Strong Armenia party has pledged that its prime ministerial candidate Samvel Karapetyan will “walk directly from political detention into the prime minister’s office”, insisting that change is inevitable despite government resistance.

“Change is on the way and [Prime Minister Nikol] Pashinyan cannot stop it,” the party said in a statement on Saturday.

The announcement came after the Anti‑Corruption Court, presided over by judge Vahe Dolmazyan, extended Karapetyan’s house arrest for three more months sought by the prosecutors. Karapetyan, a prominent businessman and philanthropist, is set to lead Strong Armenia in the June parliamentary elections.