Pashinyan says June 7 elections are about safeguarding peace with Azerbaijan

The Chairman of the Civil Contract Party Board and Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, said the June 7 elections in Armenia are about upholding the peace established with Azerbaijan.

Speaking during a pre-election campaign event in Dalarik, Pashinyan said their main objective in the elections is to preserve that peace.

“For more than two years, we have not had a single victim or injury on the border. Since independence, there has not been a single year without a victim or injury on the border,” he said.

According to Pashinyan, 2025 was the first year in which emigration from Armenia stopped and immigration began.

“In 2025, the number of citizens leaving Armenia was 8,660 fewer than the number of those arriving. Emigration has stopped, and immigration has begun,” he said.

Touching upon pensions, Pashinyan noted that since 2018 the minimum pension has increased from 16,000 drams to 46,000 drams.

“In 2022, we aligned the minimum pension with the minimum food basket. We can say that there is no hungry pensioner in Armenia. Now the pension is 46,000 drams, plus refunds from non-cash transactions. This means that we have effectively tripled the minimum pension in Armenia,” he said.

Pashinyan also referred to reforms and new programs implemented in the army, particularly the “Defender of the Fatherland” program.

“Starting in 2025, all students admitted to military academies who graduate, receive an officer’s rank, and serve in the army will receive apartments from the state upon completing their service,” he added.

According to Pashinyan, an additional $6.6 billion has been allocated to Armenia’s state budget since the 2018 revolution.

“The illegal house belonging to the former finance minister has already been sold in the United States, and the process of transferring 70 percent of its value to the Armenian state budget has begun. The house and land plot belonging to former Kotayk governor Karapet Guloyan are no longer his property, but the people’s,” the prime minister said.

He also announced that the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), which is already de facto state property, will soon become de jure state property.

The pre-election campaign for Armenia’s parliamentary elections, scheduled for June 7, officially began on May 8 and will continue until June 5. Nineteen political forces, including two alliances and 17 parties, have registered to participate in the elections.