Samvel Karapetyan claims his party emerged as leading force

Opposition leader Samvel Karapetyan said on Friday that his Strong Armenia party had established itself as a leading political force within months of its launch and vowed to pursue legal avenues to challenge the outcome of Armenia's parliamentary elections.

Speaking to reporters after Sunday's vote, Karapetyan said the alliance's performance demonstrated its rapid rise in Armenian politics.

“In just four months, we became one of the country’s leading political forces,” he said, declining to speculate on immediate next steps and urging patience as the post-election process unfolds.

“There is still time. Let’s wait and see how events develop,” he said.

Asked what lessons he had drawn from the campaign, Karapetyan accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government of using state institutions to target opponents.

“Political competition should take place under a competent government,” he said. “Instead, we have seen the authorities acting out of insecurity and resorting to arrests.”

Karapetyan also firmly rejected the prospect of cooperation with Pashinyan's ruling political team.

The opposition alliance intends to contest the election results through legal mechanisms, he said.

“We will use every legal means available,” Karapetyan said. “We have already filed an appeal with the Central Election Commission. If our concerns are not addressed there, we will take the matter to the Constitutional Court.”

He said the alliance would seek either a new election or an election runoff.