Ex-premier considers opposition`s appeal to Constitutional Court  pointless

ArmInfo.  Vazgen Manukyan, the first Prime Minister of Armenia and chairman of the National Democratic Union (NDU) Party, considers the opposition's appeal to  the Constitutional Court to challenge the results of the June  elections pointless, given the obviousness of its response. He wrote  this on his Facebook page.

In this regard, Manukyan recalled that elections in Armenia have been  rigged before. According to him, the only difference is the degree of  falsification, which depended on how far the authorities had moved  from their desired result. "At least two of the three leading  opposition forces participated in the national elections, both as  government and opposition, and were therefore well-versed in these  processes. It would seem that these forces, running separately, could  simultaneously organize a united front with a shared ideology,  creating joint bodies to monitor the elections and discussing all  possible options for the electoral process. However, none of this  happened. The opposition treated these elections as ordinary ones,"  Manukyan noted.

Meanwhile, according to the NDC chairman, it was necessary to clearly  understand that this was no ordinary electoral process, as it was of  strategic importance for Armenia. He noted that the repressions,  arrests, and other illegal actions committed by the authorities  against the opposition demonstrated that the Civil Contract party was  far from being able to renew its power through elections, as it had a  maximum of 35-37% of the vote. "A clear indication of this was Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan's hasty declaration of their 'victory', when  only a small number of ballots had been cast. This wasn't just a  declaration; it was a call to mobilize his teammates, as well as an  order to the relevant authorities to press on and ensure the  government's victory. It was also a declaration that he took  responsibility for all of this," the first prime minister explained.

In this situation, Manukyan believes, the opposition leaders were  obliged to take the appropriate step and begin the fight immediately,  at that very moment. However, instead, they found themselves in  confusion.  Meanwhile, as the politician explained, time is of the  essence in such a situation, and this step could have significantly  influenced subsequent events. "Unfortunately, this time was lost. I  believe that appealing to the Constitutional Court is now pointless,  since the court's decision in this situation was known from the very  beginning. The result will be a court ruling legitimizing these  elections, which will cause problems in the future," the NDC Chairman  noted.

At the same time, Manukyan noted, these elections demonstrated that  the majority of the Armenian population disagrees with Pashinyan's  policies. According to him, the fact that among those opposed to him,  there are hundreds of thousands of people ready to fight for their  ideas and goals indicates that change in Armenia is inevitable. In  this regard, he stated that the NDA party, as it has throughout its  activities, will continue to fight for the goals set before Armenia  and the Armenian people until a government is formed in the country  that will undertake their implementation.

"Along with the general national goals and objectives, the following  are currently priorities: the release of Armenian prisoners of war  held in Azerbaijani prisons, the return of the Armenians of Artsakh  to their homeland and ensuring their security, and the prevention of  a shameful referendum and constitutional changes dictated from  outside. Furthermore, the issue of 'enclaves' and the 'resettlement  of Azerbaijanis to Armenia' must be closed, the release of persons  detained for political reasons in Armenia must be ensured, the rule  of law and freedom must be established within the state, and Armenia  must not become an arena for confrontation between the West and  Russia," the politician concluded.

It should be noted that earlier, Aram Vardevanyan, a representative  of the Strong Armenia bloc, filed a petition with the Constitutional  Court of Armenia to annul the results of the June 7 National Assembly  elections.