The political event that took place in Armenia on June 7 cannot be considered a genuine electoral process. This opinion was expressed by political and public figure David Shahnazaryan.
According to him, the actions of both the government and the overwhelming majority of political forces that participated in the elections were directed not toward strengthening the state but effectively worked against its interests.
“In reality, this entire process — both on the part of the authorities and the vast majority of participating parties, if not all of them — was not an election. It was a process directed against the Armenian state,” he said.
Statehood Was Missing From the Political Agenda
Shahnazaryan argues that individual violations or controversial incidents discussed after the elections are not the central issue.
In his view, the real problem is that the concepts of statehood and national interests were largely absent from the agendas of the major political actors.
“If I were to summarize briefly, the main forces, including the government and the three largest political groups, were essentially oligarchic structures. If you look at them, each of these forces has roughly a billion dollars behind it, if not more,” he stated.
He further claimed that a significant portion of the opposition is closely intertwined with the ruling authorities to varying degrees.
“Siamese Twins” of Armenian Politics
According to Shahnazaryan, he has repeatedly described the relationship between the government and opposition as one of mutual dependence.
“I have said many times that they are interconnected. I even called them Siamese twins. One cannot exist without the other; they need each other,” he stated.
He believes an increasing share of Armenian society is beginning to recognize this reality.
The 2021 Elections Legitimated the Government
Shahnazaryan also referred to the 2021 snap parliamentary elections, arguing that they were primarily organized to legitimize the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
According to him, Pashinyan initially announced early elections, later suggested that society was not supportive of the idea, but afterward former President Robert Kocharyan began actively advocating for elections and declaring that his political alliance would participate and win.
Shahnazaryan maintains that the Armenia Alliance became one of the key drivers of that electoral process, which ultimately granted legitimacy to the current government.
“The leading opposition accepted the results and continued participating in the process,” he said.
The Same Scenario May Repeat Itself
Discussing the current political situation, Shahnazaryan suggested that events are likely to follow a similar pattern.
He believes political forces may pursue legal avenues, including appeals to the Constitutional Court, but are unlikely to seriously consider refusing parliamentary mandates.
He also considers the emergence of a large-scale street movement aimed at changing the political situation to be unlikely.