Armenian opposition politician vows reconstruction after government change

Campaigning for Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary elections began on Friday, with opposition politician Narek Karapetyan of the Strong Armenia party pledging sweeping reforms and accusing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of presiding over national decline during his eight years in office.

Speaking outside the parliament, Karapetyan said Pashinyan had come to power in 2018 with broad public support and promises of prosperity and peace, but instead delivered “three wars, mounting debt and deepening poverty.” He criticized the government for failing to establish a fair judiciary, improve living standards or reduce extreme poverty, while awarding hefty bonuses to officials.

Karapetyan outlined his party’s agenda, promising immediate anti-poverty measures within the first three to four months of a new administration. He proposed monthly payments of 150,000 drams to five-member households living in extreme poverty, financed largely by wealthy diaspora Armenians, with the state covering the remainder.

“No one in Armenia can implement such a program because global Armenian capital will not respond to the current government’s call,” Karapetyan asserted, adding that many prominent diaspora business leaders are aligned with his team.

He urged opposition-minded Armenians to support Strong Armenia, saying: “We must send these people away and begin rebuilding our country together. In a month and a half, we will return here to start reconstruction.”

The prime ministerial candidate of the Strong Armenia party is businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan.