“The 2026 elections are important for the peace process, and I am confident that the people of the Republic of Armenia will support what we have achieved so far,” he said late on Wednesday during a panel discussion in Paris held as part of an annual “peace forum.”
Armenian opposition leaders and pundits critical of the government claim the opposite. They say that the recent arrests and prosecution of two opposition mayors are a further indication that Pashinian is actually afraid of losing the elections.
One of the mayors, Vartan Ghukasian, ran Armenia’s second largest city of Gyumri where Civil Contract was collectively defeated by four opposition groups in a local election held in March. His October 20 arrest sparked angry protests. Over 40 Ghukasian supporters are now prosecuted for participating in what law-enforcement call “mass disturbances.” At least 26 of them are now held in detention.
Anti-government protests in the country have rarely been followed by so many arrests and prosecutions in the past. Critics say the scale of the crackdown underlines Pashinian’s deep sense of insecurity.
An opinion poll commissioned by the Washington-based International Republican Institute (IRI) and released in July suggested that only 13 percent of Armenians trust Pashinian and only 36 percent think their country is “heading in the right direction.”
Although the pollsters found even less popular support for the Armenian opposition, it appears to have been boosted by two new opposition groups formed in recent weeks. One of them is led by Samvel Karapetian, a Russian-Armenian billionaire controversially jailed in June.
Citing unnamed ruling party sources, an Armenian newspaper report claimed earlier this month that Pashinian is considering bringing forward the election date because he is worried about the expansion and rising popularity of Karapetian’s movement. The chief of the prime minister’s staff, Arayik Harutiunian, insisted on Wednesday, however, that the elections will almost certainly take place as planned in June.
Speaking at the Paris forum, Pashinian again indicated that his “peace agenda” with Azerbaijan will be the central theme of his party’s election campaign.
“I have no doubt that the citizens of Armenia will support the peace agenda and the peace process and the established peace,” he said, pointing to U.S.-brokered Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements reached in Washington in August.
Opposition leaders maintain that the agreements will not bring real peace because further concessions made by Pashinian only encourage Baku to make more demands jeopardizing Armenia’s very existence as a viable state.