Opposition candidate says poverty in Armenia driven by lack of jobs, economic system

A senior member of the opposition Strong Armenia party said on Wednesday that poverty in the country stemmed from systemic economic failures and a lack of employment opportunities, arguing that Armenians living abroad generally enjoy higher living standards.

Speaking in the northeastern town of Ijevan, the hometown of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, party board member Narek Karapetyan presented the party’s economic agenda for the upcoming parliamentary elections and criticized Armenia’s inability to create sustainable jobs and industries.

“Every third person in Armenia cannot afford to replace torn clothing, and every fifth Armenian survives only on bread,” Karapetyan said. “Outside Armenia, Armenians prosper and live well. Poverty exists here because there is no functioning system.”

Karapetyan said the party’s goal was to improve living standards through industrial development and job creation, particularly in Tavush Province.

“Ijevan once had well-known factories that have closed down. There are no jobs. How can people live well under these conditions?” he said. “The solution is to build factories and create employment here.”

He also cited economic hardship in the nearby communities of Berd and Noyemberyan despite what he described as their favorable conditions and hard-working populations.

Karapetyan praised businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, the leader of the Strong Armenia party, saying he had entered politics to defend the Armenian Apostolic Church and address poverty in Armenia.

“There is no one else with the experience to build enterprises and create jobs on this scale,” Karapetyan said. “He entered politics because he is tired of being a citizen of a poor country.”

He also noted that Samvel Karapetyan’s mother was from Ijevan, which he said had contributed to the family’s longstanding ties to the region.