There Will Be No Civil Clashes, March 1 Will Not Repeat: Pashinyan

The events of March 1-2, 2008, when people lost their lives during mass riots in Yerevan, will not be repeated during the upcoming parliamentary elections. This was stated by Armenia's acting Prime Minister and candidate from the 'Civil Contract' party, Nikol Pashinyan, during a pre-election debate on Public Television.

After the elections, Nikol Pashinyan plans to hold a rally in Republic Square. Earlier, Robert Kocharian, the second president of Armenia and considered Pashinyan's main rival, spoke about possible 'post-election developments'. In this regard, Edmon Marukyan, the leader of the 'Enlightened Armenia' party, asked Pashinyan whether there is a danger of the events from 13 years ago repeating.

The acting Prime Minister stated that such a scenario is excluded. 'The same process cannot occur for several reasons. First, the results of the 2008 presidential elections were falsified, whereas the results of this election cannot be falsified, and the vote of the Armenian citizen will be accurately reflected in the final protocols of the election counts,' Pashinyan said.

According to him, the citizens of Armenia see that there are political forces attempting to incite civil clashes and a civil war, and accordingly, the citizens of Armenia cannot vote in their favor.

Moreover, Pashinyan pointed out that the law enforcement agencies and the legal system of Armenia will decisively halt any illegal actions. 'There will be no civil clashes in Armenia because the people will form a clear majority,' he stated.

The extraordinary parliamentary elections in Armenia are set to take place on June 20. A total of 21 parties and 4 alliances are participating in the elections.