The Prosperous Armenia party considers the ongoing developments a targeted and systematic attack against an opposition political force and parliamentary candidates during the most intense stage of the election campaign, party spokesperson Iveta Tonoyan said, commenting on searches conducted at the homes and workplaces of Prosperous Armenia parliamentary candidates Andranik Tevanyan and Martun Grigoryan. She wrote about it on her Facebook page.
Tonoyan also called on international organizations, diplomats carrying out missions in Armenia and observers to pay attention to these “illegal processes.”
“If you do not see, or pretend not to see, these disgraceful realities, when Nikol Pashinyan even makes threats of physical retaliation against opposition leaders, then you see nothing at all,” she said.
Tonoyan stated that after large and powerful meetings held in Gyumri, the authorities “have found themselves in political shock.”
“The best proof of this is Nikol Pashinyan’s own behavior — giving press conferences early in the morning while still half asleep and making anxious statements. Pashinyan’s unbalanced behavior, based solely on unfounded accusations and personal insults, speaks of one thing only: the authorities are in panic. It is obvious that the ruling Civil Contract party led by Nikol Pashinyan is the only force throughout the campaign that has presented no programmatic content, instead relying on street vocabulary and mudslinging against political opponents,” the statement said.
Tonoyan recalled that the Prosperous Armenia party has a long political history, while party chairman Gagik Tsarukyan’s activities have always been aimed at defending the interests of the state, homeland and people.
“The Prosperous Armenia party has memorandums of cooperation with several political forces abroad, including the European Conservatives and Reformists Party and Russia’s United Russia party. Years ago, Gagik Tsarukyan brought around three dozen European lawmakers to Armenia and Artsakh to show the international community that Artsakh exists, that people live there, and that it is not simply a ‘war zone.’ Cooperation with various political forces has always served one purpose — raising Armenia’s standing on international platforms and defending Armenian interests.
We are unequivocal in our position: no repression, persecution or political pressure can affect our political course. We have always defended and will continue to defend Armenian interests and the real state interests of the Republic of Armenia,” the statement said.
During an election campaign event in Vanadzor on May 20, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the National Security Service would submit a report to the Investigative Committee seeking criminal proceedings against Andranik Tevanyan on treason charges. Tevanyan responded by saying that “this illegality will stick in his throat.”
Commenting on the Investigative Committee’s accusations that he disclosed secret information from a closed parliamentary session to another country, Tevanyan said in a Facebook livestream that he was no longer an MP in 2024 and therefore could not have attended the closed session, “therefore the remaining claims are absurd.”
