Strong Armenia and Armenia Alliances to Take Up Parliamentary Mandates

YEREVAN — The Armenia Alliance and the Strong Armenia Alliance, which entered parliament as a result of the June 7 elections, will take up their seats in the National Assembly.

The Armenia Alliance, led by second president Robert Kocharyan, issued a statement saying: “We believe that in the difficult struggle ahead, we are obliged to use all possible means to fight against the anti-state programs of the authorities. A mandate is a weapon, and voluntarily giving it up would be irresponsible toward our state and our voters.”

A day earlier, the Strong Armenia Alliance, led by Samvel Karapetyan, also announced that it would take up its parliamentary mandates.

“For important change to take place in Armenia, two important things are needed: street struggle and strong opposition involvement in the National Assembly. This combination will bring major change. We are preparing to call people into the streets when we see a real opportunity for change. The right course for our force is to take the mandates and be represented in the National Assembly in order to ensure the presence that will support the street struggle tomorrow as well,” said Narek Karapetyan, a member of Strong Armenia’s council.

At the same time, Karapetyan emphasized that taking the mandates does not mean recognizing the legitimacy of the current composition of the National Assembly.

“We do not recognize the representation of the Civil Contract party in the National Assembly in this composition,” Strong Armenia representative Narek Karapetyan said.

According to the results of the June 7 parliamentary elections, the ninth convocation of the National Assembly will include Civil Contract with 64 mandates, Strong Armenia with 29 mandates, and the Armenia Alliance with 12 mandates.

After examining the opposition’s applications for one week, the Constitutional Court recently rejected them and upheld the Central Election Commission’s decision regarding the June 7 elections. Following the publication of that decision, five opposition forces declared that “the Constitutional Court’s decision is not the end of the struggle, but the beginning of a new, more systematic, institutional, and large-scale phase of political resistance.”