Power structures summoning key figures of RPA proportional list 4 days before elections

In the last days of the campaign ahead of the snap elections of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is currently on leave, reiterated statements on posing threats to their opponents through law-enforcement authorities, particularly the National Security Service (NSS) and the Police, and as we can see, the power structures have already taken action.

In particular, today it was announced that Davit Shahnazaryan, who is the third candidate on the proportional list of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), was summoned by the NSS for the views that he had expressed during his recent press conferences. Today, on this occasion, Davit Shahnazaryan gave a press conference during which he particularly stated the following: “I was summoned to the NSS for the statements that I had made on 27 November when I said that the incumbent government, under the leadership of the head of the government Nikol Pashinyan, is leading a policy that I have formulated as “power in lieu of Artsakh””. Shahnazaryan says he foresees serious risks in the upcoming processes that will unfold with respect to the resolution of the Artsakh issue.

During today’s press conference, the former head of the NSS declared that there are no law-enforcement bodies in Armenia today, adding that they are punitive bodies that are only protecting Nikol Pashinyan’s interests and that this is an attempt to intimidate those who are preparing to cast their votes in favor of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) in the upcoming elections.

Today, former head of the NSS Davit Shahnazaryan addressed the law-enforcement bodies and said the following: “Don’t do things that will make you bear liability along with them. You must protect the state from this evil referred to as “revolution”. And don’t send me such documents anymore because the attitude that I had towards the NSS has changed. If you send a notice, you can arrest me or issue a detention order. The former Soviet Union failed to stop me and thousands of others like me with its powerful Committee for State Security, prisons and army 30 years ago. Take a deep breath and pull yourselves together. The term of this regime will be shorter than you think. Don’t become an accomplice to Pashinyan.”

But that’s not all.

Today, the Police summoned Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Arpine Hovhannisyan, who is the second candidate on the RPA proportional list.

Campaign officer of the RPA, Deputy of the National Assembly and candidate for Deputy of the National Assembly Armen Ashotyan posted on his Facebook page a comment informing everyone that the Police has also summoned him to show up tomorrow.

Perhaps this is a coincidence, but when there are only 4 days left until the elections and less than 4 days left until the end of the pre-election campaign, summoning key figures on the RPA proportional list to power structures and making this publicly resonant are perceived as typical examples of anti-campaign and misuse of administrative resources.

ARMINE VARDANYAN