Opposition politician calls 'Nikolism' Armenia's main internal threat

Senior Republican Party of Armenia member Eduard Sharmazanov accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of manipulating voters through fear of war, calling “Nikolism” the country’s biggest internal threat.

In a social media post on Saturday, Sharmazanov said Pashinyan’s election campaign warnings that Armenia faced a disastrous war if his party failed to secure a constitutional majority amounted to “direct blackmail and terror against his own people.” He argued that many citizens cast ballots for the ruling Civil Contract party under duress, yet the party still fell short of a majority.

“Even in this climate of fear, Civil Contract failed to secure a constitutional majority, meaning by his own words war should come in September. But yesterday Nikol was celebrating. What is there to celebrate if war is coming?” Sharmazanov said.

He accused Pashinyan of deceiving the public in both the 2021 and 2026 elections — first by framing the loss of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) as salvation, and later by using the threat of war to gain votes. “This is their political picture: lies, falsification, blackmail, repression,” he said.

Sharmazanov urged opposition figures to focus exclusively on exposing Pashinyan’s "lies" and to avoid internal disputes. “The country’s internal threat is Nikolism. Therefore, we must focus on fighting against it,” he added.