Clearing of Armenia’s political landscape marks beginning of Pashinyan’s preparations for elections – Alexander Krylov

Alexander Krylov, Chief Researcher at the Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), spoke to Alpha News about the Armenian authorities’ decision to detain Gyumri Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan.

“Pashinyan is preparing for next year’s elections, which will take place in early June. He is consistent in his actions: he is clearing the political field of all potential opponents and working to prevent them from uniting into a single bloc. First, he took action against the Armenian Church, followed by an attack on Samvel Karapetyan, an Armenian businessman who publicly defended the Church. Now Pashinyan has turned against the authorities of Armenia’s second-largest city, Gyumri, where their political opponents have come to power, despite Pashinyan and the ruling party,” Krylov said.

According to the expert, Gyumri Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan is among the political opponents who could form a unified political force to challenge Pashinyan in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

“This is the real reason behind these developments. Everything is being masked by various slogans: accusations of debauchery and worldly sins among Armenian clergy, the usual claims of corruption, and calls to overthrow the government by Samvel Karapetyan, who proposed that ‘everything in Armenia should be done our own way.’ In fact, Gyumri was supposed to become the base for a united opposition movement under this slogan. Therefore, it’s entirely logical that Pashinyan is taking steps to neutralize this scenario,” Krylov concluded.