How Political Forces Reacted to Preliminary Results of Parliamentary Elections

All political forces that participated in the early parliamentary elections of the National Assembly of Armenia have accepted the preliminary results. Tert.am presents their reactions.

Leading the ‘My Step’ alliance, Nikol Pashinyan stated in a live broadcast on his Facebook page that the early parliamentary elections held yesterday in Armenia were an exceptional victory for democracy and the power of the people in Armenia.

“This is an unprecedented event in the history of the third republic, and I consider it an unparalleled achievement for Armenia, an important victory for the citizens of Armenia,” he said, thanking those citizens who gave their vote of confidence.

The ‘Prosperous Armenia’ party, having collected 103,824 votes or 8.27% of the total, will be the second force in parliament. The party's leader, Gagik Tsarukyan, sent a message congratulating the 'My Step' alliance and the 'Bright Armenia' party for securing seats in parliament.

“As the second political force, the ‘Prosperous Armenia’ party will be your voice in parliament, and remaining faithful to its ideology, it will continue to stand alongside the people and expand its activities exclusively for the benefit and well-being of the Armenian people,” the message stated.

The ‘Bright Armenia’ party, which surpassed the electoral threshold and received 80,024 votes or 6.37% of the total, noted in its statement that the party values the organization of legitimate elections and expresses gratitude to citizens who voted with confidence in the party.

“The historic elections held in Armenia are a logical continuation of the revolution in our country, the main process ensuring the capitalization of its values,” the statement read.

The Republican Party of Armenia, which received 59,068 votes or 4.70% of the voters’ support, issued a message wishing success to the forces that entered parliament and the government they are forming, as the wellbeing of our country and people depends on this.

“These elections were democratic in form, but not in substance,” the message said.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation received 48,822 votes or 3.89% of the total. The party stated in a message that voters gave their votes to individuals, not to ideologies and programs. “As a result of the early parliamentary elections, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation will not be represented in the 7th convocation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia. This is a defeat, but not for our voters,” the announcement read.

The ‘We’ alliance, which received 25,174 votes or 2.00% of the total, evaluated the elections as the first time in the last 20 years in Armenia that the elections were held without the involvement of criminal elements, vote-buying, and fraud.

“Yes, these elections were conducted without significant violations and incidents, but it is also obvious to everyone that there was no substantial, ideological, or programmatic struggle during the electoral campaign, resulting in a unipolar National Assembly, which is not a positive phenomenon for the development of the country and the establishment of a parliamentary governance system,” the ‘We’ alliance’s press release stated.

The ‘National Progress’ party, which received 4,122 votes or 0.33%, was represented by Lusine Haroyan, who issued a statement congratulating the Armenian people on rejecting the RPA and ARF and removing them from the political field. “We congratulate the Armenian people on rejecting the RPA and ARF and removing them from the political arena. We also congratulate Nikol Pashinyan on forming a majority in parliament,” the announcement read.

The ‘Sasna Tsrer’ All-Armenian Party, which garnered 22,862 votes or 1.82% of the votes, considers that the extraordinary parliamentary elections of December 9, 2018, were a significant step toward eliminating the previous criminal regime and establishing democracy in Armenia.

“The voting, despite the violations recorded during it, was overall free and transparent, allowing the people to freely express their will,” stated the announcement from the ‘Sasna Tsrer’ party.

The ‘Country of Law’ party also issued a statement after receiving 12,390 votes or 0.99% of the total, expressing gratitude to the citizens who voted for them. “We congratulate the three political forces that entered parliament, wishing them effective activity for the benefit of the Republic of Armenia and our people,” the ‘Country of Law’ party’s press release stated.

The ‘Citizen’s Decision’ Social Democratic Party received 8,533 votes or 0.68%. The party leader, Suren Sahakyan, told Tert.am that they would wait for the final results before issuing another statement, but he acknowledged the election results.

The ‘Christian Democratic Revival’ party received 6,460 votes or 0.51%. The party leader, Levon Shirinyan, indicated that they would make a statement regarding the election results tomorrow.