Pashinyan Dares Critics to Launch a Revolution Over Election Claims

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan challenged opponents of his government to take to the streets and seek a change of power if they disagree with the country's current political direction, framing the post-election period as a struggle between revolution and counter-revolution.

“Those citizens of the Republic of Armenia who do not agree with this line, I call on you to carry out a revolution and change the government,” Pashinyan said during the first parliamentary question-and-answer session since the June 7 elections. “If you disagree, come out into the streets starting today.”

The prime minister said Armenia now faces a choice between advancing what he described as a revolutionary reform agenda or allowing a counter-revolutionary comeback. He pledged to continue dismantling what he called the country's criminal-oligarchic system and vowed not to back down from that effort.

His remarks came as opposition parties continue challenging the election results and prepare appeals to the Constitutional Court. Opposition groups have accused the ruling Civil Contract party of abusing administrative resources and argued that the invalidation of results at three polling stations prevented Prosperous Armenia from entering parliament.

Pashinyan dismissed those claims, questioning why opposition forces had failed to mobilize large public demonstrations if they truly believed the vote had been stolen.

“The elections were rigged, and yet Republic Square is empty?” he asked. “I am saying: come out into the squares if your vote was stolen.”

The prime minister also linked recent contacts with Azerbaijan to what he described as security concerns stemming from perceptions surrounding the election outcome. He said the June 14 meeting in Dilijan between Armenia's Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan and Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev was intended to manage risks created by narratives that could undermine the peace process.

According to Pashinyan, international observers could wrongly conclude from the election results that hundreds of thousands of Armenians support reviving the Karabakh movement or revisiting the peace agreement with Azerbaijan.

“If we do not manage this situation now, and the perception is created that there are 500,000 people in Armenia saying that the Karabakh movement must continue, it will seriously escalate the military-political situation in Armenia,” he said.

Pashinyan argued that vote-buying, allegedly supported by outside actors interested in destabilizing the region, had distorted the election outcome and created what he called a direct threat to peace. He said the Grigoryan-Hajiyev meeting was necessary to help contain that threat.

The prime minister further claimed that the opposition's strong electoral performance did not reflect genuine support for policies such as reclaiming Karabakh or revising the peace agenda.

“Are 500,000 people saying that we should continue the Karabakh movement? No, they are not,” Pashinyan said. “We must not allow such an impression to be created, because if that impression is created, peace will collapse.”

Pashinyan also launched a sharp attack on opposition leaders, including former President Robert Kocharyan, Strong Armenia leader Samvel Karapetyan, and Prosperous Armenia founder Gagik Tsarukyan, accusing them of benefiting from large-scale vote-buying and representing the remnants of Armenia's old political system.

Despite the prime minister's assertions, Armenia's major opposition parties have not publicly advocated retaking Karabakh by force or pursuing the concept of a "Greater Armenia from sea to sea."

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