Robert Kocharyan Tells Voters June 7 Election Will Decide Whether Armenia Remains an Armenian State

Armenia’s opposition Armenia Alliance, led by former President Robert Kocharyan, held its final campaign rally in Yerevan on Friday, presenting the June 7 parliamentary election as a decisive moment for the country’s sovereignty, security and future direction.

Addressing supporters at the closing event, alliance leaders sharply criticized Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government and argued that Armenia faces growing national security challenges during the next ongoing negotiations with neighboring Azerbaijan.

Levon Kocharyan, a parliamentary candidate and son of the former president, appealed to voters who remain critical of his father’s years in power, acknowledging past mistakes while urging them not to support the current government.

“We may have different visions for our country's future. We made mistakes and had shortcomings in the past, and today’s anti-national government is also a product of those mistakes. Dear compatriot, understanding you and your anger, I ask you not to let a mistake from 20 years ago become the reason you choose Nikol, Aliyev’s governor, who caused thousands of deaths,” Kocharyan said.

Robert Kocharyan, Armenia’s second president and the alliance’s candidate for prime minister, framed the election as a referendum on the country’s future identity and independence.

“These elections are not ordinary,” Kocharyan told supporters. “The main question is whether Armenia will remain an Armenian state. These elections are about whether we preserve our sovereignty or become an appendage of the Turkish world and carry out its will.”

The former president accused the government of deepening political divisions and overseeing what he described as the most contentious election campaign in Armenia’s modern history. He also argued that a peace agreement with Azerbaijan could be reached under different terms that would provide stronger guarantees for long-term stability.

“Be assured, it is possible, and we will do it,” Kocharyan said. “We see Armenia as a modern industrial country, the most efficiently developing country in the region, with advanced agriculture and a strong financial system.”

He pledged to strengthen national security, attract foreign investment and build what he described as a state founded on national values and economic development.

During the rally, Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a parliamentary candidate and senior representative of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, said the alliance spent the campaign traveling throughout Armenia to convince voters that the current government poses a threat to national security.

“Throughout the campaign, we have been in every province and city,” Saghatelyan said. “We had one task: to explain to society through facts and examples that this government is a threat to national security.”

Saghatelyan rejected any constitutional changes that he said could be made under pressure from Azerbaijan and reiterated the alliance’s opposition to proposals involving the possible return of Azerbaijanis to Armenia, a claim frequently raised by opposition groups during the campaign.

Parliamentarian Kristine Vardanyan also urged voters, particularly younger Armenians, to participate in the election, arguing that the outcome would shape the country’s future identity and security.

Later in the event, Levon Kocharyan again addressed voters who remain skeptical of the opposition, saying public frustration with previous governments should not lead citizens to support the current administration.

“There are different reasons for this, including mistakes made in previous years,” he said. “Sharing your justified anger, I ask that the mistakes of the past do not become the reason for electing Nikol Pashinyan.”

Armenia’s parliamentary elections are scheduled for June 7, with official campaigning ending on June 5. The vote is widely viewed as one of the country’s most consequential elections since the 2018 Velvet Revolution, taking place amid deep political polarization, continued debates over Armenia’s security and foreign policy orientation, and ongoing peace negotiations with Azerbaijan following years of conflict.

Nineteen political parties and alliances initially registered to compete in the election. One party was later removed from the ballot after its registration was invalidated by the Central Electoral Commission, leaving 18 political forces contesting seats in parliament.

The election is being closely watched by domestic observers and international organizations during increasingly heated political rhetoric, allegations of pressure tactics by competing sides, and several incidents of campaign-related violence reported during the race.

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