Who Has Been in Whose Shadow? Edmon Marukyan Advises Papikyan to Study the 2017 Election Data

Edmon Marukyan, the leader of the opposition Bright Armenia faction in the National Assembly, responded to Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Suren Papikyan during a press briefing with journalists in Parliament.

“I advise Mr. Papikyan to study the data from the 2017 elections and take a look at how many votes he collected and how many votes I collected. Then we will determine who has been in whose shadow. I want to remind you that the ruling council of the Civil Contract party elected me as the top candidate of the Yelk alliance by closed secret ballot. Who has been in whose shadow? Nikol Pashinyan was also in the third position,” said Marukyan.

He added that during the 2018 elections, their speeches indicated that there had been a revolution, and it was clear that the political majority would be the “My Steps” alliance. “We said to the people, you should decide who will be the opposition because we are going as the opposition. Therefore, those manipulations are made by people who have looked for shadow their entire life, wanting to stand in the shade. I have said on one occasion, right now there is a heightened pre-election situation inside. And they must prove through their speeches that they deserve to have good positions on the list. Therefore, whoever shouts the loudest, insults the opponent, and has hate-filled propaganda speeches will find themselves in better places as the most trusted ones. Keep this context in mind,” he noted.