YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — A political party whose members stormed a police station in Yerevan in 2016 said on December 27 that it will no longer support Armenia’s current government and will strive instead for snap general elections.
“It is already evident that the current authorities lack the will and capacity to carry out systemic changes,” the Sasna Tsrer party said in a statement. It said it will therefore be in “radical opposition” to them starting next year.
One of the party’s leaders, Varuzhan Avetisyan, said the authorities are “on the wrong track” and “headed toward destruction.” “That is why we should also play the role of putting the brakes on that destruction,” Avetisyan said at a news conference.
“We are not planning pre-term elections for a concrete month or day,” he said. “That would certainly be unserious. We are planning to form a national democratic pole that … will demand and, if necessary, elicit such a decision by the will of the people.”
According to the Sasna Tsrer statement, the conduct of the fresh elections must be preceded by the formation of a provisional government that will usher in a “period of tough rule” in the country.
Sasna Tsrer leaders already stated in the run-up to the December 2018 parliamentary elections that the new Armenian parliament will have to be dissolved within two years. Those statements provoked an angry response from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. He said Sasna Tsrer members and supporters will “feel the taste of asphalt” if they attempt to destabilize the political situation.
