Oskanian calls Armenian elections a 'protest against humiliation'

Former Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian has denounced the country’s recent parliamentary elections, describing them as a national protest against humiliation, defeat and the erosion of Armenian statehood rather than a geopolitical contest.

Writing on social media on Monday, Oskanian argued that international coverage of the vote was dangerously superficial, often framing it as a struggle between a pro-Western government and a pro-Russian opposition. “This narrative may suit foreign audiences, but it is profoundly misleading,” he said, contending that the elections reflected a deeper crisis of legitimacy.

“These elections were not about choosing Moscow or Brussels,” Oskanian declared. “They were about rejecting further concessions, further surrender and the dismantling of Armenia’s constitutional foundations.”

He alleged that the process was marred by coercion, intimidation, selective law enforcement and manipulation after the vote, insisting that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan “did not secure the trust of the Armenian people.” According to Oskanian, the ruling Civil Contract party’s victory cannot be separated from the machinery of power that shaped the outcome before, during, and after election day.

The former minister emphasized that Armenia’s challenge is not aligning with East or West but reclaiming an independent foreign policy rooted in national interest. He warned that pressures over constitutional amendments, territorial concessions and the erasure of Artsakh’s legacy are part of a broader effort to weaken Armenia into a more compliant state.

“The real choice before Armenia is between dignity and submission, constitutional order and executive dominance, genuine peace and imposed capitulation,” Oskanian said. He insisted that voters did not endorse “a new era of humiliation” or the trading of sovereignty for foreign approval.

Instead, he maintained, Armenians cast their ballots for dignity, identity and the right to exist as a sovereign nation, not as a bargaining chip between global powers.