Opposition is Necessary, but Not Serzh Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan: Alen Simonian

The former authorities of Armenia have behaved poorly, their departure was accompanied by scandal, and there is no way back. This was stated by the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia, Alen Simonian, during a meeting with Russian journalists in Yerevan.

He is confident that none of the former team's representatives has a chance to return to power in the coming ten years. The society has various attitudes toward the current government, both positive and negative. However, as Simonian noted, almost everyone agrees on one point: there is no way back for the former authorities.

In response to a question about the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, the Deputy Speaker stated that his supporters consist of two or three employees, whose names can be mentioned, along with family members. "If you try to search for Kocharyan's supporters across the republic under the daylight, at best you will find a thousand, two thousand people," he said.

Things are even worse for the third President of Armenia and leader of the Republican Party, Serzh Sargsyan. Alen Simonian recalled that during the last parliamentary elections, Sargsyan's party collected 57,000 votes across the country. For comparison, he noted that he personally gathered 22,000 votes in two administrative regions of Yerevan. He left the conclusions to the interlocutors.

"Of course, we need an opposition. Without a strong opposition, the government will be weak. But people do not consider them (Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan) to be the opposition because they have no connection with the Armenian people. Over the past five years, they had the opportunity to do all the things they are talking about now. However, most of them are entangled in various corruption schemes," the Deputy Speaker noted.

The politician emphasized that there are criticisms directed at Prime Minister Pashinyan's government, claiming that it is too lenient toward the former authorities, but they cannot operate using illegal methods. They will never open "Pandora's box."