The pre-election campaign in Armenia is entering an active phase, revealing sharp socio-economic contradictions. Within the framework of his visit to the Lori Marz affected by the earthquake, Prime Minister candidate Samvel Karapetyan severely criticized the current government’s economic policy, placing the main emphasis on the problems of public debt, demographic crisis and inefficient spending of budget funds.
On May 17, meeting with the residents of Spitak, the leader of the “Strong Armenia” party referred to the historical memory of the region. The politician recalled the tragic events of 1988, noting that he was not far from the epicenter of the earthquake and personally witnessed the scale of the destruction. Turning to the modern agenda, Karapetyan emphasized that today the region suffers from lack of attention and lack of real production. According to him, instead of systematically restoring the industrial potential, the authorities are busy with populism, loudly reporting about asphalted kilometers.
The opposition candidate expressed his conviction that the entire modern economy of the country is based exclusively on debt obligations. Breaking out of that vicious circle will take a long time and will require abandoning short-term projects in favor of real job creation. Karapetyan accused the country’s leadership of not opening any large enterprises for the past eight years, while his team has implemented several such projects. He also questioned the quality of infrastructure projects of the authorities, hinting at corruption risks. Local residents defended the candidate, complaining that the asphalt laid last year has already started to crumble. However, the main threat to the state, according to the politician, remains mass emigration and depopulation.
Let us remind that the extraordinary parliamentary elections in Armenia are scheduled for June 7. The campaign, in which 17 parties and 2 political blocs participate, will continue until June 5. The main opponent of the opposition is the ruling party “Civil Agreement” led by the current Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, which is nominated under the number 16, with the slogan “Stand up for peace”.
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