Ten Strong Armenia supporters have been detained in connection with obstructing the ruling party's campaign.
Supporters of the "Strong Armenia" party began chanting Samvel Karapetyan's name at a Civil Contract election rally. They were detained on suspicion of obstructing election campaigning.
As "Caucasian Knot" reported, the opposition's fragmentation has not diminished over the past month amid the onset of the campaign and increased pressure. The main opposition parties are fighting for votes and political leadership. Representatives of the Strong Armenia party and the Armenia bloc emphasized the importance of the country's partnership with Russia, but emphasized the need for an independent national policy.
Samvel Karapetyan's Strong Armenia, along with Robert Kocharyan's Armenia bloc and Gagik Tsarukyan's Prosperous Armenia Party, is one of the most pro-Russian parties in the Armenian parliamentary elections. The Kremlin is backing Karapetyan, but he is legally ineligible to participate, Armenian political scientists previously noted. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report "2026 Elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia".
Security forces detained 10 Strong Armenia supporters following an incident involving representatives of the Civil Contract party, who, led by Defense Minister Suren Papikyan, were campaigning in the Lori region. Interior Ministry press secretary Narek Sargsyan announced the arrest of the citizens on suspicion of obstructing election campaigning, without providing further details, Aysor.Am reports.
The incident occurred in the village of Metsavan in the enlarged Tashir community, where supporters of the Strong Armenia party met with representatives of the ruling Civil Contract party. Karapetyan's supporters turned up the volume and began chanting "Samvel, Samvel" to drown out Papikyan's speech. Papikyan responded by declaring that they were committing a criminal offense and calling on the police monitoring the rally to take action, News.Am reports.
Armenia Today noted that Karapetyan's supporters chanted "Samvel is the prime minister." Papikyan responded by chanting "Nikol is the prime minister." He also announced his intention to teach a "political lesson" to those who incite residents to such actions.
Speaking at a rally during the election campaign in Yerevan's Nor Nork district, Narek Karapetyan, a member of the Strong Armenia political council, commented on the incident, criticizing the actions of the security forces and Papikyan personally, the agency reports.