The Moldovan Scenario Could Repeat in Armenia: Suren Surenyants

The Moldovan scenario could repeat in Armenia. This is stated by political scientist Suren Surenyants.

"The parliamentary elections held in Moldova showed how a one-party government can be established under the guise of democracy. President Maia Sandu's team won not due to real competition, but by employing a simple trick: society was divided between 'pro-Western' and 'pro-Russian' factions, and any opposition force that threatened the government was labeled as 'foreign agents' and pushed out of the political process.

These elections became not a contest of ideas, but a means of reproducing power. The pretext of 'Russian interference' served as a universal weapon against the opposition, allowing the government to control the electoral field.

A similar tool has long been in use in Armenia. Nikol Pashinyan’s team is building a strategy for maintaining power based on anti-Russian sentiment. The polarization of society has become the only source of governmental legitimacy, and some of the opposition, willingly or unwillingly, continues to 'pour water' into the government's 'mill' while waiting for Moscow's 'victorious bell,' instead of forming an independent political agenda.

If this trend continues, then in the 2026 National Assembly elections, we will witness the same scenario as in Moldova:

• The government will continue to mobilize its supporters based on 'anti-Russian enmity.'
• Opposition groups will be labeled as 'foreign agents' or 'fifth columns.'
• The elections will turn into a tool for preserving power, rather than allowing free competition.

Moldova serves as a clear warning for us: if the opposition does not form a broad, independent, domestic agenda and continues to rely on external forces, Armenia will find itself in the same trap. In that case, democracy will ultimately be reduced to a method of power reproduction," he wrote.