Author: Jane Topchian

Armenian Assembly Internship Alumni Headline Featured in YP Media Panel

Jane Topchian

Lincoln Zaleski & Tamar Barsamian


Washington, D.C. – Two bright and accomplished Armenian Assembly Internship Program Alumni, Tamar Barsamian and Lincoln Zaleski, headlined this week’s Summer Speaker Series that focused on the field of media. Both Tamar, a Product Manager at POLITICO, and Lincoln, a Junior Program Manager at AidData, participated in the Assembly’s flagship Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program in 2018.
Lincoln, who studies media and its effects on the population, and Tamar who hones in on consumer interests in the media, spoke about what inspired them to embark on this career path and the importance of being persistent and sharpening certain skills key to this industry.
“If you’re interested in something, run after it,” said Tamar, who admired POLITICO’s mission early on and now is a member of the POLITICO Pro Product Team, a subscription service that provides professionals news, analysis, and online tools to track data in wide variety of policy areas. She also elaborated on the significance of managing different priorities, working with diverse personalities and highlighted that “research and communication skills are critical in media.”
Tamar’s experience during her Assembly internship laid the groundwork for her career in Washington, D.C. As an Assembly intern, she worked at the Smithsonian and Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, which showcased an exhibition on Armenia and Armenian culture during her internship. Tamar also worked in the office of Senator Edward Markey (D-MA).
“I was exposed to a lot, from arranging travel plans to putting briefs together, and having those experiences gave me the chance to work on my communication skills and make connections,” she said.
As a disinformation researcher, focusing on China and Russia through his work with AidData, a research lab at William & Mary’s Global Research Institute that provides scholars and policymakers with data-based evidence, Lincoln noted that he refined his writing and research skills when first starting out in his career.
“Take ownership of your interests and what fascinates you, write about them and get feedback,” said Lincoln, who interned for Senator Markey and Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA), and gained experience in election campaigning and writing news releases. “Find mentors you can meet with often and build connections.”
Exposure to the media, particularly during their time in the Assembly’s internship program, was helpful to Tamar and Lincoln.
“We met with powerful and influential decision makers in D.C., in addition to our internships and networking with Armenian Americans from all over the U.S.,” said Tamar. “Having that kind of exposure at a young age is rare and gave us the chance to build on those opportunities.”
In terms of accessing balanced reporting in the media, Tamar and Lincoln recommended following news that is of interest, the importance of educating oneself, and having meaningful conversations with others, while also receiving information from multiple sources.
Touching upon the role of media coverage in Armenia and the lack thereof during the Artsakh war, Lincoln pointed out that journalists tend to focus on “regional trends” and spoke about the value in “investing in Armenia’s credibility as a fledgling democracy.”
“Having that continued investment, alongside a large and mobilized diaspora, will prove to the global community that we can be a liberal democracy that reports on the news objectively and can build up its own media,” said Lincoln.
Regarding the future of media, Tamar noted that the way people consume information has drastically changed over time and how needs have changed.”
“At POLITICO, we focus on policy professionals and how we can get information to them at their fingertips in the fastest way possible, with speed and accuracy,” she said.
Lincoln keyed in on personalization and globalization and “the way that news is consumed has become personalized to us through algorithms.”
“News targets us directly and part of that problem is that we may fall into echo chambers,” he said. “Globalization, more so than ever before, allows us to know what’s going on in all facets of society.”
Moderating the discussion was Assembly Communications Director Taleen Babayan. The Assembly’s virtual Summer Speaker Series is free and open to the public. Its aim is to encourage college students to participate and interact with speakers to help shape their professional futures, while connecting with fellow Armenian Americans in the field.
Register for this week’s Armenian Assembly of America Internship Program Summer Speaker Series on Thursday, July 1, 2021, at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time, that will feature Ani Toumajan, Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). She is the Senator’s primary advisor on public policy issues related to international trade, national security, and immigration. Ani previously worked as a policy staffer for U.S. Representative Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ). Before that, Ani was a Legislative Aide and Staff Assistant for Senator Stabenow. Ani spent her formative years in Michigan. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and her master’s degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.
The Terjenian-Thomas Assembly Internship Program, which is taking place virtually this summer, provides college students of Armenian descent an opportunity to gain exposure to the policymaking process in our nation’s capital for eight weeks each summer.
Since 1977, the Armenian Assembly of America has assisted over 1,200 participants in securing placements in prominent congressional offices, government agencies, media outlets, think tanks, and non-governmental organizations in Washington, D.C.


Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.


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NR# 2021-60

Armenpress: US committed to strengthening partnership with Armenia: Biden congratulates Pashinyan

Jane Topchian

US committed to strengthening partnership with Armenia: Biden congratulates Pashinyan

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 09:18,

YEREVAN, JUNE 29, ARMENPRESS. US President Joe Biden congratulated Armenia on successful snap parliamentary elections.

“Congratulations to the people of Armenia and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on successful parliamentary elections. Our partnership with Armenia is one of shared values and cooperation on democratic reform and conflict resolution—we are committed to strengthening that partnership”, Biden said on Twitter.

A temporary accommodation center for asylum seekers being built in Armenia’s Abovyan city

Jane Topchian

A temporary accommodation center for asylum seekers being built in Armenia’s Abovyan city

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 19:53,

YEREVAN, JUNE 28, ARMENPRESS. The construction of a temporary accommodation center for asylum seekers started in Abovyan on June 28. ARMENPRESS reports,, the total cost of the program is 1 million 358 thousand Euros, provided by the Governments of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Germany, and the program is implemented jointly by the International Center for Migration Policy Developmen and Migration Service of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia. A 2-storey monolithic building with all the amenities will be built on the land provided by the Abovyan community.

Photos by Tatev Duryan

‘’The project is planned to be completed by the end of 2022, but the builders give hope that it is possible to do it a little earlier, by mid-2022 the building will be ready. The current special accommodation, which is designed to solve the housing problems of asylum seekers, accommodates about 50 people, although it is designed for 45 people. That is, with some difficulty, but we host 50 people. The current construction envisages the construction of a special shelter that will accommodate about 100 asylum seekers, even 120 people in case of certain arrangements’’, head of Migration Service Armen Ghazaryan said, adding that the housing issue of asylum seekers can be solved for the period of at least 7-8 years.

‘’It is not yet expedient to plan such issues for a longer period, given the rapidly changing migration trends’’, he said.


Asbarez: PACE Calls Out Azerbaijan for Ignoring POW Release Resolution

Jane Topchian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

A sham trial of 14 Armenian POWs began in Azerbaijan on June 16 (Trend.az photo)

The problem of political prisoners in Azerbaijan, as identified and described in a January 2020 resolution of the Assembly, “has been neither duly recognized nor adequately addressed by the Baku authorities, let alone resolved, according to a follow-up report of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe released on Wednesday.

The follow-up report, prepared by Thorhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir of Iceland and endorsed by the Assembly’s legal affairs committee at a meeting Wednesday, said most provisions of the resolution “have not been implemented” by the authorities.

“The only exceptions are the inexcusably late quashing of the convictions of Mr Ilgar Mammadov and Mr Rasul Jafarov […] and the late submission of partial information to the Committee of Ministers in the context of its supervision of relevant judgments of the European Court of Human Rights,” the report said.

In a separate statement, the Legal Affairs Committee endorsed the report and expressed “particular disappointment” at the failure of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Assembly to co-operate with the rapporteur in the exercise of her mandate, as well as the continuing failure of the Azerbaijani authorities to implement fully the relevant, binding judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.

A day before the conclusion was publicized, a representative of Armenia at the parliamentary body called on PACE to suspend Azerbaijan’s delegation, calling on the Council of Europe to “take concrete actions, rather than to make statements which do not lead to any consequences.”

Lawmaker Naira Zohrabyan, representing the Prosperous Armenia Party in Armenia’s parliament, called on the Council of Europe to suspend the Azerbaijani delegation’s powers and freeze European bank accounts of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, his family and that country’s political elite. She stated that the solution of the Armenian POW issue is possible only by imposing tough sanctions against Baku.

“Especially today when hatred and intolerance have become a serious issue in Europe and politicians have a great responsibility to keep away politics from populism, lie, manipulations and tools unacceptable in the fight against political opponents, our today’s discussion is more than relevant. Yes, the politician must have a mandate to freely exercise his right to speech, which, however, can’t avoid red lines,” said Zohrabyan.

“When the President of Azerbaijan is calling Armenians liars and says that for 30 years Artsakh has been in the hands of monsters, wild animals, when announces that he will expel Armenians from Artsakh like dogs, when mannequins of Armenian servicemen are displayed at the Baku trophy park, I am more than convinced that racism ad Armenophobia cannot be considered as freedom of speech and must be prevented,” explained Zohrabyan, adding that if the European organization does not apply sanctions on Azerbaijan, there is a great fear that many Armenian mothers will no longer hug their sons.

“I ask you again: why don’t you suspend the Azerbaijani delegation’s right to vote? Why don’t you urge international organizations to freeze the European bank accounts of Aliyev’s family and his clan? I have talked to the boys [the Armenian POWs] who were repatriated two weeks ago. They saw hell in the Baku prison. And I will urge, on a daily basis, for applying concrete sanctions against Azerbaijan, as this country could become the last graveyard of Europe and the European values,” emphasized Zohrabyan.

The Armenian lawmaker also took part in a PACE discussion on media freedom and citizen’s right to get accurate information.

Zohrabyan focused her presentation on on the manipulations of public opinion by fake news, bringing Azerbaijan as an example where the media was in the forefront of spreading hatred and hostility against Armenia.

“In our information world, media in many cases are much more than the most powerful weapon,” Zohrabyan said. “And in our European family there is a country, even the most cursory monitoring of its media field is terrible. When the leader of that country speaks about the causes of their victory in the recent Artsakh war and states that they won because they managed to educate generations who grew up with hatred and hostility against Armenians, he is right, and the Azerbaijani media had a great contribution to this because they spread and continue spreading Armenophobia, violence, hatred and falsification.”

“When an Azerbaijani politician announces that Armenians must be killed in Karabakh, and it is being spread by the Azerbaijani media… When a 13-year-old Azerbaijani girl announces that she wants to become a sniper in order to kill an Armenian, and this becomes the top lead of that country’s media, we have the terrible picture which we had during the recent bloody war and after that – atrocities, lie, fake news and media manipulations,” said Zohrabyan.

These days the trial of Armenia soldiers is underway in Azerbaijan, whom Azerbaijan presents as terrorists and saboteurs, and the entire Azerbaijani media is filled with spreading disinformation, and now what accurate information and protecting society form fake news are we talking about?” pondered Zohrabyan.

“Today, under the free media flows, if we do not manage to protect our societies from fake news, which especially in totalitarian countries feeds societies with racism, intolerance and lie, we will have Azerbaijan as a result, where the media field is daily filled with videos torturing and humiliating the Armenian prisoners of war and the public opinion which welcomes all these” adde the Armenian lawmaker.

Newspaper: Armenia troops to be taken out from front line

Jane Topchian
News.am, Armenia
09:32, 23.06.2021

YEREVAN. – Hraparak daily of Armenia writes: It is already known that in the near future an agreement will be reached between the government and the RF [(Russian Federation)] on the deployment of Russian peacekeepers in the Sotk-Khoznavar section of Gegharkunik Province, after which the [Armenian] the [Armenian] troops will be taken out from the front line. The fact of the [respective] talks was confirmed yesterday by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Artak Davtyan, in a briefing with reporters.

To the question whether the Azerbaijani side has already given its consent, Davtyan answered: “We have nothing to ask Azerbaijan in our territory; but talks are underway with the party because there are issues. Our goal is the withdrawal—without clashes—of the Azerbaijani [army] units to the border, and we must take the measures entirely in our territory. If necessary, we cooperate with the Russian side.”

It is obvious from the strong comment of the head of the General Staff to entrust our sovereign territory to the peacekeepers of another state that only the troops of the Armenian side will withdraw, and it is difficult to say what can happen on our borders as a result.

There is also information that [acting PM] Nikol Pashinyan will sign an agreement in the fall—most likely, in September—, with which, in fact, will recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Armenia to vote in shadow of bitter battlefield defeat to Azerbaijan

Jane Topchian
The Irish Times

Daniel McLaughlin

Four former leaders of Armenia will vie for power in potentially turbulent parliamentary elections on Sunday, after a hard-fought campaign dominated by fallout from the country’s bitter military defeat last year to neighbouring Azerbaijan.

Acting premier Nikol Pashinyan resigned as prime minister in April and called the snap elections, to end months of political turmoil sparked by the Azeri victory in fierce fighting over the disputed Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Six weeks of war killed more than 5,000 people before a Russian-brokered ceasefire ended the fighting last November and cemented Azerbaijan’s battlefield gains, returning most of Nagorno-Karabakh to Baku’s control more than 25 years after the region was seized by its ethnic Armenian majority.

Critics of Mr Pashinyan accused him of betrayal and treachery for accepting the Azeri return to much of Nagorno-Karabakh, while some of his opponents were arrested for allegedly plotting a coup and an assassination attempt against the ex-journalist, who came to power through peaceful anti-corruption protests in 2018.

Mr Pashinyan also claims that many of his critics have links to the scandal-plagued political old guard that he ousted, and whose graft and incompetence he blamed for leaving Armenia’s military too weak to beat Azeri forces strengthened by Baku’s sizeable energy revenue and strong support from chief ally Turkey.

Polls suggest the strongest challenger to Mr Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party will be a bloc led by Robert Kocharyan, Armenia’s president from 1998-2008.

At a rally this week, Mr Kocharyan said Mr Pashinyan’s mishandling of the war and the economy was fuelling poverty, unemployment and a national sense of insecurity, which were in turn driving large-scale emigration from Armenia.

“They will cause a headache if they remain in parliament in large numbers. So they should be in parliament with as few mandates as possible. It would be best if they weren’t in parliament at all,” Mr Kocharyan said of Civil Contract.

Speaking to supporters in the capital Yerevan, Mr Pashinyan described Sunday’s election as “the moment of truth” when his so-called velvet revolution of 2018 would be superseded by a “steel revolution.”

Mr Pashinyan, who has brandished a hammer at some rallies, urged voters to give him a “steel mandate” with enough power to root out parts of the establishment that he claims are still loyal to the discredited elite embodied by Mr Kocharyan and other former leaders.

He has also vowed to bring home scores of Armenian prisoners of war who are still in Azeri hands, following the return of 15 captives from Baku last week in exchange for a map showing the location of minefields laid by Armenian troops.

“There is no doubt that all our captive brothers will return to the motherland very soon,” Mr Pashinyan declared, amid continuing tension and occasional skirmishes between Armenian and Azeri troops in contested border areas.

"Armenia" bloc on acting PM’s Facebook live: This was direct campaigning using administrative levers

Jane Topchian
News.am, Armenia
“Armenia” bloc on acting PM’s Facebook live: This was direct campaigning using administrative levers
17:29, 19.06.2021

The official representative of the headquarters of “Armenia” bloc—led by second President Robert Kocharyan—, constitutional expert and lawyer Aram Vardevanyan issued a statement Saturday in connection with acting PM Nikol Pashinyan’s Facebook live earlier in the day.

“Minutes ago, Nikol Pashinyan, a candidate for MP from the [ruling] Civil Contract Party, using his social status as the acting Prime Minister, made an announcement on his official Facebook page. With that, he issued a call and exhortation to “definitely” take part in the voting [in Sunday’s snap parliamentary elections].

First, the mentioned candidate violated the principle of observing the day of [election] silence. Second, using his status [as the acting PM]—the bodies of executive authorities’ service dependence on him—urged to take part in the vote, in the conditions when he is a candidate for prime minister of one of the 26 [political] forces.

This was a direct campaigning, with the use of administrative levers, allegedly assuming the function of the CEC [(Central Electoral Commission)].

We find that the CEC should immediately convene a session, and investigate—on the basis of this statement—this significant violation of the electoral process and which endangers its legality,” Vardevanyan noted in his statement.

Armenia will consistently move on path of fulfilling its proposal for solving border situation – Pashinyan

Jane Topchian

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 12:15,

YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. Caretaker Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is leading the Civil Contract party’s electoral list for the June 20 snap parliamentary elections, states that the Armenia-Azerbaijan border situation must be solved peacefully “because its chance really exists”.

During the party’s election campaign in Syunik province, Pashinyan said the Azerbaijani troops must leave Armenia’s borders, adding that this position is supported by the entire international community.

“Today as well we are in daily touch with our Russian partners, and our vision is the following: representatives of Russian border guards should be deployed along the border points, as well as clarification of border points from Sotk to Khoznavar and border delimitation, demarcation must be carried out under the auspices of the international observers. Before that, we have stated that the troops of both sides should return to their permanent deployment positions in mirrored fashion. And we will move consistently on this path”, he said.

Pashinyan also noted that he has suspicions that with border incidents an attempt is made to impact the results of the upcoming elections in Armenia.

“But we need to walk clearly with our unity on the path of defending our country, our territorial integrity, and we will definitely do this together”, he said.

 

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

June 11th Election Data Update: Hayastan Alliance Takes Outright Lead; Opposition Surges Sixteen Points Ahead

Jane Topchian
Armenian Nationa.org
  • BY MHER ALMASIAN
  • POSTED ON JUNE 11, 2021
Robert Kocharyan in Talin

MPG/Gallup Int has released an updated pre-election poll, taken between June 8th to June 10th. It’s their seventh such poll released during this campaign season, and the fourth in the last three weeks. I added the data to what I had charted during the previous weeks. To review the full methodology that I have used, you can look at the original article from May 25th. Everything that has been stated in previous weeks has been italicized:

Please also be aware that since the last MPG/Gallup Int. poll released on June 5th, Ukrainian NGO Center for Social Development “Inter-Action” has published its own polling data on June 7th. In order to maintain consistency in the data charted, I did not include the “Inter-Action” data in my graphics below. While confirming many of the general trends of the MPG/Gallup Int. polls, the “Inter-Action” poll showed much stronger numbers for the “I have honor” alliance than had been seen up to that point in the MPG/Gallup Int. data, which had made me cautious about relying too heavily on the results.

June 7th Election Data: Second Opinion Poll Confirms Opposition Lead

The latest MPG/Gallup Int. poll has once again confirmed many of those same trends. Moreover, the very strong showing of I have honor on the: MPG/Gallup Int. polling seems to validate the “Inter-Action” numbers.

Based on the latest data, the Հայաստան alliance between the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ՀՅԴ), former president Robert Kocharyan, and Armenian Renaissance (ՎՀԿ) has once again continued its dramatic and unexpected momentum. In the latest data, among all voters, it now has an outright lead of 0.3 percent over the ruling party, a 17.6 percent turnaround from the launch of their campaign. Much more importantly, the opposition as a whole now enjoys a commanding 11.9 percent lead among all voters, a 16.4 percent lead among decided voters, and it is now in position to take some sixty percent of seats in parliament.

Data for all voters

All Voters

To avoid confusion, please distinguish between the pro-government Republic Party (ՀԿ) of Aram Sargsyan and the former ruling party of Serzh Sargsyan, the Republican Party of Armenia (ՀՀԿ). On a similar note, distinguish between the aforementioned Republic Party (ՀԿ), and the Fatherland Party of Artur Vanetsyan (which has the same Armenian initials as ՀԿ) which is in an alliance with ՀՀԿ in the Պատիվ Ունեմ alliance. To avoid confusion, In this article I refer to Artur Vanetsyan’s party only in its full name and only in English, while I refer to Aram Sargsyan’s party as ՀԿ.

Using the latest polling data, as well as that of undecided voters above, I tried to create an accurate picture of committed voters. Once again, you can refer to the May 25th article to get the full details of the methodology used.

Data for comitted voters

Committed Voters

If you are not familiar with the Armenian political landscape, please note that the ruling party and ՀԿ can be considered firmly in the socially liberal/pro-western/anti-nationalist government camp, while the equally liberal Bright Armenia Party (ԼՀԿ) can be considered somewhat in the government camp. On the opposition side, the Հայաստան and Պատիվ Ունեմ alliances can be considered firmly in the socially conservative/pro-Russia/nationalist opposition camp, with the equally socially conservative Prosperous Party of Armenia (ԲՀԿ) somewhat in the opposition camp, but largely limited to whatever best serves the personal interests of Gagik Tsarukyan. Both ԼՀԿ and ԲՀԿ can be expected to be willing to cross lines if it serves their interests, though at this point both of those scenarios seem unlikely.

The following are critical parts of the Armenian electoral code that must be understood. I only included the parts that are pertinent to the results of the latest polling data.

I have an honor campaign event
  • All political parties must receive a minimum of five percent of the vote to enter parliament. All political alliances must receive a minimum of seven percent. This means as things stand ԼՀԿ and ՀԿ being under five percent would not enter parliament.
  • If a party or coalition gets less than fifty-four percent, but more than fifty percent, they will be granted the additional seats needed to reach a fifty-four percent majority. (Please note the difference between a coalition and an alliance. An alliance is formed pre-election, such as the Armenia alliance between ARF, Robert Kocharyan, and VAP or that of Pativ Unem between RPA and the Fatherland Party. A coalition is formed post-election between parties and alliances in order to form a ruling government. An example would be the most likely coalition that we will see. the one between Armenia alliance, Pativ Unem alliance, and PAP.
  • Parliamentary seats will be divided among parties and alliances that have cleared the necessary thresholds, based on the percentages of votes receives. Meaning as it stands (Scenario I), with ԼՀԿ and ՀԿ not clearing the necessary thresholds, the ruling party would receive 40.0 percent of parliamentary seats, losing control of the government (Scenario I). The Armenia alliance along with Pativ Unem and PAP would collectively receive some 60.0 percent of parliamentary seats, taking control of the government.
Scenario I

I explained previously in a facebook post, that it is highly likely that the voters are not yet familiar with the name of the Պատիվ Ունեմ alliance, and that they are responding with ՀԿ, when they in fact mean ՀՀԿ, one of the two parties composing the Պատիվ Ունեմ alliance. The fact that ՀԿ saw inexplicable and unprecedented support in the first two polls in which the name ՀՀԿ did not appear supports this theory. As voters become familiar with the name of the new alliance, it should be expected that the numbers for the Պատիվ Ունեմ alliance will increase.

This prediction has so far proven to be true as last week Պատիվ Ունեմ saw a significant increase in its share of the vote, while ՀԿ saw a significant decrease. That theory seemed further legitimized four days ago, when the “Inter-Action” poll which did not have NGO: as an option, showed a very strong showing for I have an honor.

RPA chairman Serzh Sargsyan at an I have honor campaign event

And the theory continues to hold and is now looking highly accurate as Պատիվ Ունեմ has once again seen an increase in its numbers, with ՀԿ quickly fading out of the picture. As it stands, I will stop including ՀԿ In future updates, unless something changes drastically. (Please note that the Շիրինյան-Բաբաջանյան alliance came in at 2.5% compared to 2.3% for ՀԿ, but I did not include them in my numbers as they are still much farther away from the seven percent threshold needed for alliances than ՀԿ Is to the five percent threshold required for parties.)

In the less likely scenario that ԼՀԿ also clears the five percent required minimum threshold (Scenario II), the new Robert Kocharyan led opposition trio can expect to receive some 57.1 percent of seats in parliament.

Scenario II

I had previously stated that this election could be decided by the performance of the potential junior partners Pativ Unem, LAP, and NGO. Moreover, I had specifically stated that I have the honor of managing to enter parliament would likely be the decisive factor in an opposition victory, regardless of how the other two smaller parties performed. The two most recent polls seem to have answered that question decisively, as I have honor has surged significantly past its required minimum threshold. I would feel very confident now in saying that “Pitiv Unem” will almost certainly be in the next Armenian parliament.

Aspram Krpeyan, Oxford graduate, daughter of National Hero Tatul Krpeyan, and number 33 candidate on the list of the Հայաստան alliance, speaking in Ashtarak, at a campaign stop in her native Aragatsotn region

Furthermore, the opposition is now surpassing certain numbers that almost puts the election beyond the realistic possibility of manipulation. With a twenty percent lead, the government would need to stuff some 200,000 votes in order to achieve victory, something that is logistically impossible. Moreover, such a lead would make the possibility of cancelling or delaying elections much less possible to sell to the public. As it stands, the opposition has a 16.4 percent lead.

Finally, it can now be said with a high degree of confidence that the results of the latest MPG/Gallup Int. numbers would seem to validate the data released four days ago by the Ukrainian NGO “Inter-Action”, especially as it pertained to I have the honor.

At this point, based on my understanding of statistics and mathematics, I can say with a very high degree of confidence that Robert Kocharyan will be the next prime minister of Armenia.

Asbarez: A Guide to Armenia’s June 2021 Parliamentary Election

Jane Topchian


Kocharyan at a campaign rally with the Armenia Alliance in Sisian (Photo: Armenia Alliance, June 8)

According to the latest poll, support for the major political parties is divided as such: 22.4-percent of participants will vote for the Civil Contract party, 20.6-percent for the Armenia Alliance, 4.2-percent for the Prosperous Armenia party, 3.9-percent for the I’m Honored Alliance and 2.9-percent for the Bright Armenia party. Support for Pashinyan’s Civil Contact party has sharply declined from 33-percent of voters, while support for Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance has multiplied from single-digit numbers.

While Pashinyan and Kocharyan lead the polls, they are joined in the race by 24 other political groupings. A total of 22 political parties and four alliances of two or more political parties have registered with the Central Election Commission to compete in the upcoming snap parliamentary elections. Those political parties have presented 2,605 candidates, who will vie for 105 seats in the National Assembly. Each party has presented a closed rank-ordered list of candidates, according to an electoral reform bill passed in April eliminating the open list component of the “ratingayin” system.

The quota for the proportion of female MPs on each party list must be at least one out of three candidates. A total of 947 women are competing in the race, which is 36.3-percent of the total number of candidates. The Armenia Alliance has the lowest proportion of female candidates (30.7-percent) while the Pan-Armenian National Statehood Party has the highest (43.9-percent). Historically, while women and men vote in equal numbers across gender lines, women are severely underrepresented within the Armenian government.

Pashinyan at a campaign rally for the Civil Contract Party in Gyumri (Photo: Nikol Pashinyan, June 9)

The first party on the ballot is the Fair Armenia Party (FAP), with prime ministerial candidate Norayr Norikyan. The FAP is highly critical of the widespread corruption among former government leaders, and it criticizes Pashinyan’s administration for its failure to deliver convictions on corruption charges. During the FAP’s founding congress on February 20, 2021 (the date was selected in honor of the start of the movement for the liberation of Artsakh in 1988), Norikyan presented a “yellow card” to the Pashinyan administration in this regard. “In politics, only the people and political forces that enjoy their trust can present a red card to resolve the issue of leadership,” he said.

The first president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who served between 1991 and 1998, is attempting a political comeback as the head of the Armenian National Congress Party (ANC Party). The ANC Party is the successor to the Armenian National Movement, which formed Armenia’s post-independence government. In 2008, Ter-Petrosyan ran for president in a controversial election cycle that international observers determined was marred by widespread irregularities. Ten people died, and hundreds were injured in a violent state crackdown on rallies, which Pashinyan helped organize, opposing the election of former President Serge Sargsyan. While the ANC Party supported Pashinyan’s My Step Alliance in the 2018 election, Ter-Petrosyan has been publicly critical of Pashinyan’s handling of the Artsakh conflict since the end of the war. In May, he called upon his fellow former presidents to form an electoral alliance to unseat Pashinyan, an offer that Sargsyan and Kocharyan rejected. Nonetheless Ter-Petrosyan, who has also criticized his successors for squandering opportunities for compromise and settlement of the Artsakh conflict, has declared that his primary goals in running for prime minister are to oust Pashinyan and prevent Kocharyan’s return to power.

Acting PM Pashinyan hopes to retain his seat as the head of the Civil Contract Party, which is running independently in this election. In the 2018 snap parliamentary elections following nationwide mass protests that unseated Sargsyan, Pashinyan led the My Step alliance, composed of the Civil Contract and Mission parties, to a landmark victory, earning approximately 70-percent of the vote. The Civil Contract Party, which was formed in 2015, had previously participated in the 2017 election alongside the Bright Armenia and Republic parties as part of the Yelk alliance. Pashinyan has said that the Civil Contract Party rejects “isms”and “hardened ideologies.” “We are not liberal, we are not centrist, we are not social democrat; we are a civil party,” he said during a speech in 2019. Yet the party has come under criticism due to the inclusion of Gurgen Arsenyan and Khachatur Sukiasyan—two wealthy and prominent businessmen—on the 2021 candidate list. “One of the promises of the revolution was that business and politics would be separate, and no benefits would enter parliament,” Bright Armenia Party leader Edmon Marukyan told reporters. “The authorities are breaking their promise again.”

Artur Vanetsyan and Serge Sargsyan at a campaign rally with I’m Honored in Dilijan (Photo: I’m Honored, June 7)

The next party on the ballot is the Awakening National Christian Party, with prime ministerial candidate Ara Zohrabyan. The party’s founder Vahagn Chakhalyan served time in prison in Georgia between 2009 and 2013 on charges of “organization of large-scale events, public disturbance, hooliganism and illegal possession of weapons” that he viewed as persecution for his political activity in Javakhk. Leaders of the Awakening National Christian Party, including Zohrabyan and Chakhalyan, were active in the 2019 Kamk movementagainst the ratification of the Istanbul Convention on preventing gender-based violence and domestic violence. The movement contended that the convention’s prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity violates the Armenian Constitution in that it prescribes a “third gender.”

Former PM Hrant Bagratyan, who served as part of Ter-Petrosyan’s administration between 1993 and 1996, will be leading his Freedom Party, which he founded in 1997. Bagratyan has been active in the movement calling for Pashinyan’s resignation since November.

Former head of the National Security Service Artur Vanetsyan will lead the I’m Honored Alliance, consisting of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) and Vanetsyan’s Homeland Party. The RPA, one of Armenia’s longest ruling parties, was founded in 1990 and held seats in parliament in every election cycle until 2018, when it was defeated by the Velvet Revolution. Sargsyan, chairman of the RPA, served as president from 2008 to 2018; during his tenure, the RPA earned approximately 44-percent of the vote in the 2012 election and 49-percent in 2017. Vanetsyan, who served in Pashinyan’s administration, was part of a group of 10 opposition figures briefly detained in November on charges of “organizing illegal violent mass disorder” and allegedly plotting an assassination attempt of the prime minister. At the time, Vanetsyan and Sargsyan were part of the Homeland Salvation Movement, and they have continued to demand the PM’s resignation. Taron Margaryan, who is second on the alliance’s candidate list, has been absent from politics since he resigned from his post as mayor of Yerevan amid corruption allegations in 2018.

Lusine Avagyan is one of two female prime ministerial candidates participating in the election with the United Homeland Party (UHP). The UHP, one of the many political parties formed in the months preceding the election, advanced a message of political unity during its founding congress on April 23. “We do not wish to criticize anyone,” said founder Mher Terteryan. “We want to focus on the future.”

Levon Ter-Petrosyan (Photo: Armenian National Congress Party, June 7, 2021)

The Pan-Armenian National Statehood Party was also founded this spring and will run Artur Vardanyan as its candidate for prime minister. The party vows to strengthen statehood and protect Armenia’s borders in the aftermath of the war.

The Bright Armenia Party, currently the third-largest parliamentary party, is participating in the election with founder Edmon Marukyan at its head. Marukyan, who established the party in 2015, was elected MP in 2012. While the party was formerly part of the Yelk alliance alongside the Civil Contract party, the relationship between the parties soured after Civil Contract MP Sasun Mikayelyan slapped Marukyan during a parliamentary session in May of 2020. Marukyan has called for Pashinyan’s resignation in the aftermath of the war, but he has not associated himself with the Homeland Salvation Movement.

The next party on the ballot is the Our Home is Armenia Party, led by Goodwill ambassador and President of the Union of Armenians in Russia Ara Abrahamyan. The party is presenting a joint list with the Alliance Progressive-Centrist Party, led by Tigran Urikhanyan, who is running for prime minister. Urikhanyan served as an MP with the Prosperous Armenia Party from 2012 to 2017, with the Alliance Progressive-Centrist Party as part of the Tsarukyan Alliance from 2017-2019 and as an independent from 2020 to the present day.

MP Aram Z. Sargsyan is running for prime minister with his Republic Party. Sargsyan founded the Republic Party in 2001 after serving as prime minister from 1999 to 2000. The party advocates for the creation of a professional standing army, strengthened by utilizing the country’s natural resources and investment in science. Sargsyan’s brother was former prime minister Vazgen Sargsyan, one of the eight victims of the deadly shooting in Armenia’s National Assembly on October 27, 1999.

Armenia’s Homeland Party, formed in 2005, is running prime ministerial candidate Artak Galstyan in the election.

The Free Homeland Alliance is the only alliance that includes more than two political parties: the Conservative Party, the Armenian Construction Party, the National Self-Determination Union Party, the National Democrats’ Alliance Party and the Armenian Green (Socio-Ecological) Party. Mikayel Hanrapetyan heads their joint list of candidates.

Business tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan is running for reelection with his Prosperous Armenia party (PAP). The former armwrestling champion and the wealthiest businessman in Armenia owns the Multi Group of companies, which includes over 40 businesses. Tsarukyan is also president of the National Olympic Committee of Armenia. After founding the PAP in 2004, he resigned as its leader in 2015 following a confrontation with Sargsyan, who described him as “evil” and ordered tax audits of his various businesses. The disagreement stemmed from Tsarukyan’s opposition to the 2015 constitutional referendum transitioning from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary system. He returned to politics in 2017, and since then the PAP has been the largest parliamentary opposition party. In September of 2020 Tsarukyan was arrested on suspicion of vote buying, fraud and illegal land appropriation, yet he was released on bail one month later after martial law was declared following the start of the war. While Tsarukyan joined the Homeland Salvation Movement, the PAP is running independently.

The next party on the ballot is the Democratic Party of Armenia, with prime ministerial candidate Tigran Arzakantsyan. Arzakantsyan, founder of the Tigran Arzakantsyan Foundation, served as an MP with the RPA from 2003 to 2012. He is married to Natalya Rotenberg, former wife of Russian billionaire Arkady Rotenberg. Aram G. Sargsyan, the final head of the Communist Party in Armenia prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, founded the Democratic Party in 1991.

Karin Tonoyan is the second of two women heading a party’s electoral list with the 5165 National Conservative Movement Party. Tonoyan was the host of the Hay Aspet television program, the main goal of which was the “intellectual education of the new generation considered as a factor of national security.” She is the mother of Menua Hovhannisyan, who died serving in the 2020 Artsakh War and was posthumously awarded the Hero of Artsakh title. The 5165 National Conservative Movement Party, the name of which is a reference to the elevation (in meters) of Mount Ararat, has announced that its main goal is to remove Pashinyan from power.

The Citizens’ Decision Social-Democratic Party is participating in the election with Suren Sahakyan heading its electoral list. The party was founded in 2018 in the aftermath of the Velvet Revolution by left-leaning activists who held leadership positions in previous protest movements including the 2012 sit-in to save Mashtots Park from development and the 2015 “Electric Yerevan” demonstrations that reversed a hike in the price of electricity. The party has an extensive platform, including the creation of a welfare state and progressive reforms on gender equality, trade unions, criminal justice reform and the environment.

MP Arman Babajanyan and political scientist Levon Shirinyan are running with a joint list as the Shirinyan-Babajanyan Democrats’ Alliance. Babajanyan, its candidate for prime minister, was elected MP in 2018 as a member of the Bright Armenia party yet has served as an independent since 2019 and founded the For the Republic Defenders of Democracy Alliance Party in 2021. Shirinyan, former leader of the Christian-Democratic Renaissance Party, founded the Christian-Democratic Party in 2021.

Former diplomat Ara Hakobyan is running for prime minister with the National Agenda Party, which he co-founded in 2018.

The Ascent Party is participating in the election with the goals of reorganizing the army and creating a professional, disciplined military. Its candidate for prime minister is Aleksan Minasyan. Minasyan is the founder of the Monte Melkonian Military Academy and the former head of the Vazgen Sargsyan Military University. After retiring from the Armenian Armed Forces in 2003, he established the “Zhayr” Pan-Armenian NGO, which supports the youth in forming self-defense detachments.

Former commander of the Artsakh Defense Army during the first Artsakh war Samvel Babayan is running for prime minister with the Liberal Party. Babayan intended to run in the 2020 parliamentary election in Artsakh with his United Homeland Party, but was declared ineligible due to residency issues. Babayan was briefly arrested in 2017 on charges of illegal arms acquisition and money laundering, yet he was released from custody under the Pashinyan administration.

The Armenians’ Eagles United Armenia Party, founded in 2018 by Khachik Asryan as an outgrowth of the patriotic Armenians’ Eagles non-governmental organization, is competing in its first election cycle. Asryan served as Deputy Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs from 2007 to 2018.

The European Party of Armenia (EPA) favors membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union and distance from Russian influence. Filmmaker Tigran Khzmalyan founded the party in 2018 and is running for prime minister. Khzmalyan worked as a journalist at the A1 and Vesti TV companies during the first Artsakh war and later as the head of the Yerevan TV Studio. He also served as a political analyst for the Armenian Assembly of America and Deputy Director of the UN Department of Public Information. The EPA formed the National Democratic Axis in 2020 alongside Sasna Tsrer, yet registered separately for the upcoming election. Famous singer Ruben Hakhverdyan is ranked second on the party’s candidate list.

Former President Kocharyan, who has not been involved in politics since his term ended in 2008, leads the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) and Resurgent Armenia party in the Armenia Alliance. Kocharyan served as prime minister from 1997 to 1998 and president from 1998 to 2008. He also served as the president of the Republic of Artsakh from 1994 to 1997. During his presidency, several proposals for settlement of the Artsakh conflict were considered, including the Key West agreement, which was rejected by former President of Azerbaijan Heydar Aliyev. In June of 2018 Kocharyan was charged with “overthrowing the constitutional order” due to his role in the violent state crackdown on the 2008 post-election protests. Following a two-year trial he was acquitted after the court ruled that the section of the criminal code under which he was charged was invalid. The Resurgent Armenia party is led by the former governor of Syunik Vahe Hakobyan. Its membership largely consists of local politicians from the province, including the mayors of Goris, Meghri, Kajaran and Sisian. Chair of the Supreme Council of the ARF in Armenia Ishkhan Saghatelyan is second on the Alliance’s list of candidates.

Sasna Tsrer formed the National Democratic Axis Pan-Armenian Party, which is competing in the election with Vahe Gasparyan at the top of its candidate list. Sasna Tsrer stormed a police station in Yerevan in July of 2016, killing several police officers and taking others hostage. Their demands included the release of detained leader of the Founding Parliament opposition group Zhirayr Sefilian, the resignation of President Sargsyan and a tougher stance on negotiations over the Artsakh conflict.

The final party on the ballot is the Sovereign Armenia party. Its candidate for prime minister, Davit Sanasaryan, is a former member of the Civil Contract party and activist in the “Reject Serge” movement that brought down the former government. A close ally of Pashinyan, he was appointed head of the State Oversight Service, Armenia’s anti-corruption agency, after the Velvet Revolution. Yet in 2019 he was charged with abuse of power in order to “promote the interest of his employee’s business,” and he resigned from his post at the start of this year amid the ongoing investigation. He founded the Sovereign Armenia party in 2021.