‘Armenia’ Alliance Names Robert Kocharian as its Candidate for Prime Minister

Former president Robert Kocharian enters the Karen Demirchyan Sports Complex in Yerevan on Mar. 16

The “Armenia” Alliance announced that former president Robert Kocharian will serve as the bloc’s candidate for the upcoming parliamentary election.

The announcement was made at a campaign kick-off event on Sunday at the Karen Demirchyan Sports Complex in Yerevan, with members of the alliance, supporters and guests in attendance.

The announcement of Kocharian’s candidacy by Armenia Alliance lawmaker Anna Grigoryan was followed by remarks by the candidate who declared: “We are determined. Our goal is victory.”

“The evil embodied by this government will be defeated. I entered the struggle against them from the very first days they came to power, and I will not rest until they are removed. This is also what distinguishes me from the other candidates for prime minister. But this is not enough. Those responsible for the deaths of our thousands of heroes must be held accountable—those who surrendered Artsakh and who today force the people to forget their heroic history,” Kocharian said.

The slogan of the campaign, “Together We Can,” became the rallying cry of the event.

Also addressing the event was Armenian Revolutionary Federation Supreme Council of Armenia chair Ishkhan Saghatelyan, who announced that the alliance has been shored up by the participation of the Aratch (Forward) Party, which recently joined the bloc.

Saghatelyan explained numerous other civic organizations and group have also joined the alliance. The ARF leader paused his speech for a video presentation highlighting the Armenian alliance’s accomplishments.

Other speaking at the event included, Sevak Khachatryan, the leader of the Arach Party; Chritine Vardanyan, a member of the ARF Supreme Council of Armenia and a lawmakers; and Arthur Khachatryan, another ARF member and a lawmaker representing the Armenia alliance.

In her remarks Vardanyan spoke about the alliance’s programs related to youth, noting that making higher education free in Armenia is among the alliance’s priorities.

Khachatryan, an economist by profession, outlined the bloc’s economic policy priorities and sharply criticized the government’s economic performance. He argued that official statistics fail to reflect the reality faced by ordinary citizens.

He said that living conditions can be better understood “by looking at people’s refrigerators and wallets,” pointing to rising debt levels among the population. According to Khachatryan, around 300,000 people in Armenia hold problematic consumer loans, while approximately 150,000 citizens lack even 250,000 drams ($68,000) to meet basic financial obligations.

He also questioned the government’s claims about average wages, noting that a significant portion of workers earn below the reported figures once taxes are taken into account.

Khachatryan further criticized the country’s growing public debt, stating that Armenia’s state debt has reached approximately 5.3 trillion drams ($14 billion) and continues to increase rapidly. He argued that a substantial portion of the state budget is now directed toward debt servicing, placing a heavy burden on taxpayers.

He also pointed to structural weaknesses in the economy, noting that Armenia’s largest sector remains wholesale and retail trade and vehicle repair, rather than high-tech or industrial production, despite government promises of promoting a knowledge-based economy.

Khachatryan outlined three core pillars of the Armenia Alliance’s economic strategy:

• Creating a favorable environment for economic and business development;
• Providing targeted support for domestic producers; and
• Ensuring fair distribution of national wealth

He also presented a 12-point economic plan:

• Transforming Armenia into a high-tech industrial country, with industry accounting for at least 25% of GDP
• Integrating Armenian businesses into global value chains
• Expanding state support for technology startups and research projects, particularly in the defense sector
• Encouraging banks and pension funds to finance the real economy and establishing investment funds for major infrastructure projects
• Prioritizing Armenian-made products in public procurement and expanding export markets
• Protecting strategic sectors such as agriculture and textiles from unfair foreign competition
• Supporting small and medium-sized enterprises through tax incentives, automated reporting systems, and a two-year tax holiday for startups
• Promoting balanced regional development beyond Yerevan
• Strengthening agriculture, targeting at least 15% of GDP, while improving rural living standards and food security
• Introducing a progressive income tax system and reducing unemployment by creating 30,000 to 45,000 jobs annually
• Raising the minimum wage to align with the cost of living
• Increasing the base pension by 50% and indexing it annually to inflation

Khachatryan said the measures outlined represent foundational principles rather than a complete program, adding that a more detailed economic platform will be presented in the coming weeks.

He expressed confidence that the proposed policies would drive economic growth and improve living standards across Armenia.

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