Manukyan defends Ter-Petrosyan's legacy in heated Armenian election debate

Armenia’s territorial losses, economic policies and competing interpretations of the country’s recent history took center stage during a televised debate ahead of Sunday’s parliamentary elections.

The debate, organized by Armenia’s Public TV Company on Monday, featured a heated exchange between National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan and Armenian National Congress (ANC) member Aram Manukyan.

Manukyan criticized the government’s economic record, arguing that Armenia lacked a principled approach to governance and warning about the country’s growing debt burden.

“A state cannot develop without principles,” Manukyan said. “You are pursuing an unprincipled economic policy. Armenia has reached a point where every child is born with a debt of 4,700 euros.”

Simonyan responded by challenging the legacy of Armenia’s first president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, whose political camp Manukyan represents.

“How did Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s rule end?” Simonyan asked.

Manukyan replied by displaying a map printed in an Armenian passport and arguing that Ter-Petrosyan had left office with Armenia controlling a larger territory and Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Levon Ter-Petrosyan handed you 42,000 square kilometers of territory and Karabakh, and today you are giving us a new map,” Manukyan said. “Your image is reflected in this.”

Simonyan rejected the criticism.

“This is the real Armenia,” he said.

Manukyan later displayed another map, which he said illustrated the consequences of the government’s policies and criticized planned closure of 239 schools.