Alen Simonyan Says Armenia Would Have a Better Opposition if Kocharyan and Sargsyan Do Not Participate in the Upcoming Elections

YEREVAN — Alen Simonyan, Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, believes that the country could have a stronger and more effective opposition if former Presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan do not participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Simonyan expressed this view during a conversation with journalists in the Parliament, responding to a recent statement by Arman Tatoyan—the leader of the political movement “Wings of Unity”—who argued that the current government could be removed in the upcoming elections if former Presidents Kocharyan and Sargsyan refrain from participating.

Simonyan noted that he partially agrees with Tatoyan’s assessment.

“It would be a very interesting campaign and political struggle if the former presidents—who were never legitimately elected, in my view—did not participate. Serzh Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan have never been able to inspire confidence in the election results. If they stay out, we might actually see a much better opposition in Armenia than the one we have today. But they will not do that, because from their position of monopoly, they will still try to secure some form of presence in Parliament,” the Speaker said.

Simonyan reaffirmed that free elections are held in Armenia.