Narek Karapetyan: "Strong Armenia" party  considering consolidation  only with extra-parliamentary opposition forces

ArmInfo.The "Strong Armenia" party is considering consolidation exclusively with extra-parliamentary opposition forces, ruling out cooperation with parliamentary parties. Narek Karapetyan, a board member of the "Strong Armenia" party, made this statement on March 13 outside the Anti-Corruption Court of Armenia.

In this regard, he noted that they will issue a statement on this issue in the near future. Karapetyan added that Armenia is in an interesting situation ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7, 2026. "Samvel Karapetyan's freedom of speech is currently limited. We have not received any positive responses from the Investigative Committee of Armenia. Their response was vague noting that they are not authorized to comment on the court's decision," Karapetyan stated.

He added that, despite the current situation, polls show that the majority of Armenian society supports Samvel Karapetyan and his political party. "According to polls, the government enjoys the support of only 24% of society, while 70% of our population is against them. So, can you imagine a person (the Prime Minister - ed.) running in an election, imposing every possible restriction on his main competitor, and still nothing comes of it? After the latest polls, the authorities' fear has grown, and they will do everything possible to keep Samvel Karapetyan under house arrest. The more they hear the opinion of Armenian society, the more they will try to use various tools to combat their opponents. However, the next prime minister of Armenia must be a new person, an economist who will solve the poverty issue. And I am confident that Samvel Karapetyan will be the next prime minister," stated a party board member.  In response to statements by the ruling Civil Contract party that their removal from power will lead to new conflicts, Karapetyan pointed out that it was under their rule that the country faced three wars. He believes that the Armenian authorities are essentially seeking to demonstrate a solution to a problem they themselves  created. Meanwhile, according to Karapetyan, ensuring peace requires more than one guarantor of a country's security, especially since the situation in Iran has created conditions in which Armenia no longer has one. "Secondly, it is necessary to rebuild the army.  Armenia needs a 21st-century army. Moreover, technological progress has made army modernization more accessible, and maintaining an army is now easier than it was five years ago," Karapetyan concluded.