Pashinyan and Kocharyan shared their versions of the past with voters
Civil Contract and Alliance Armenia appealed to the past in their May 29 campaign: Nikol Pashinyan's political force criticized their predecessors, while Robert Kocharyan recalled his own achievements. Strong Armenia and Prosperous Armenia tried to attract voters with promises of a prosperous future.
As reported by the Caucasian Knot, on May 28, the Armenian parties' campaign focused on several key themes, including statehood and Republic Day, security, and foreign policy. For opposition parties, one of the key points of the campaign was criticism of Nikol Pashinyan.
Elections to the National Assembly of Armenia will be held on June 7. According to analysts, the parties of Samvel Karapetyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and former President Robert Kocharyan will be key competitors in the elections. Samvel Karapetyan's Strong Armenia, along with Robert Kocharyan's Armenia bloc and Gagik Tsarukyan's Prosperous Armenia, is one of the most pro-Russian parties in the Armenian parliamentary elections. The "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report "2026 Elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia".
The pre-election campaign of Armenia's four key political forces over the past 24 hours has been built on reminders of the past and promises of a prosperous future, according to politicians and parties on their Facebook pages*, as well as Armenian media publications. Nikol Pashinyan's political force has resorted to criticizing the "thirty years of greed" of its predecessors and linked its new rival to them, while Robert Kocharyan's bloc has actively emphasized the successes of his presidency, which ended 18 years ago.
"Civil Contract" toured the Tavush region
The ruling party held meetings in the Tavush and Kotayk regions of Armenia – in Artsvaberd, Upper Karmiraghbyur, Berd, Haghartsin, Dilijan, and Ijevan. Nikol Pashinyan personally participated in several campaign trips and published videos of meetings with residents.
On social media, the party attacked opponents, directly pointing out "Strong Armenia"'s ties to the previous government. Civil Contract representative Arayik Harutyunyan recalled that "Narek Karapetyan's father headed the Republican Party faction and was the head of Serzh Sargsyan's campaign headquarters."
"These are old people with a mentality typical of prominent representatives of the Republican Party. It was because of this greed that for 30 years they gave away a piece of iron and demanded something huge in return. But we broke this mentality," he wrote in a post on the party page.
"Strong Armenia" announced a final rally
Samvel Karapetyan's bloc has scheduled a mass pre-election rally in Yerevan for June 3. Supporters of this political force plan to march from the Holy Cross Church in Arabkir to Republic Square and hold a rally there. Strong Armenia party leader Samvel Karapetyan, whom his comrades call "the future Prime Minister of Armenia," called on citizens to "be part of the change."
At the same time, Karapetyan's party held meetings in Zeytun and Abovyan. During the rally in Abovyan, lawyer Aram Vardevanyan, representing the bloc, accused Pashinyan's government of failing to address citizens' economic and social problems. He called the upcoming elections "fateful."
"Our entrepreneurs today are facing problems unprecedented in Armenia's modern history, and the current government is doing absolutely nothing." “If Samvel Karapetyan and his team were in charge of Armenia instead of these people, then if our entrepreneur had even one problem, they would turn the world upside down, but they would solve the problem of their citizen, their businessman, who creates wealth,” Vardevanyan stated, in particular.
A separate event was the press conference of the Gohar Meloyan bloc candidate for parliament, dedicated to the launch of a project to protect voter privacy during elections. Meloyan called the recordings released by the Anti-Corruption Committee in connection with the election bribery case “shameful interference” in the activities of her political force. According to the candidate, “Strong Armenia” does not need voter bribery and intends to “appeal to international partners” with a complaint. “We have clearly been targeted,” Panorama.am quotes her as saying.
“Alliance Armenia” praised the legacy Kocharyan
The Alliance Armenia bloc, led by the country's second president, Robert Kocharyan, campaigned in Spitak, Stepanavan, Vanadzor, and Syunik. On its social media page, the political force actively reminded voters of their leader's past achievements. "At every step in Spitak, we encounter buildings constructed during Robert Kocharyan's time. After June 7, we will build again," one post read.
On security issues, Kocharyan also cited the successes of his own presidency. "We were so strong that Azerbaijan never dared to take steps toward the frontline." "There was not a single serious incident of moderate or lesser severity," he stated during his speech.
Robert Kocharyan also accused the current Armenian leadership of pre-election manipulation using the armed forces: he compared the military parade in Yerevan on May 28, showcasing new weapons and equipment, to the 1996 "pre-election" parade. "The army (previously) was used as a propaganda tool during the pre-election period only in 1996, when the elections were held immediately after the military parade. “You all know how the 1996 presidential elections ended,” he said.
The 1996 presidential elections in Armenia were accompanied by accusations of fraud and mass protests. Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who received an absolute majority of the votes, eventually resigned early in 1998, according to a fact sheet from the “Caucasian Knot.”
On the evening of May 29, Kocharyan’s interview aired on Public Television. The bloc announced a rally in Ashtarak on May 30, and in Yerevan’s Freedom Square on May 31.
“Prosperous Armenia” has placed its bets on a megaproject
Gagik Tsarukyan held a meeting with fellow party members in the Ajapnyak district of Yerevan. During this meeting, he commented on the words of Nikol Pashinyan, who promised opponents long prison sentences and detention in "cages," but called on journalists "not to focus on the destructive rhetoric of the authorities and to steer the discussion in a constructive direction." "I never start the conversation, but if people say something about us, they always get a proportionate response," News.am quotes him as saying.
On social media, Prosperous Armenia focused its campaigning on the topic of poverty. "Poverty is our enemy, and we will defeat it," proclaims one of the campaign videos published on May 29 on the political party's social media page.
The Prosperous Armenia program is aimed at ensuring peace, social justice, and the country's development. Its slogans: "Guaranteed peace, prosperous Armenia, prosperous life," should From a post on Tsarukyan's page.
The party also presented the "Hatis" megaproject—the construction of a statue of Christ and the "Noah's Ark" tourist complex on the mountain of the same name. This project is positioned as a tool for developing tourism and increasing Armenia's visibility globally.