Ishkhan Saghatelyan calls for "broad coalitions" to challenge Pashinyan in 2026 parliamentary elections
ArmInfo. Several major and influential political blocs should participate in the 2026 parliamentary elections, as stated by Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a representative of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun Supreme Body and an MP from the opposition Armenia faction, when speaking to reporters.
He also addressed the claim that the involvement of former presidents would inadvertently help Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan retain power, calling it erroneous. According to him, such rhetoric comes from the Prime Minister himself and only serves to strengthen his position. "We are convinced that several large blocs must be formed to provide the Armenian people with a genuine choice. No political force has the right to restrict the participation of others. Let the appropriate blocs form, present their programs and teams, and let the people decide," Saghatelyan noted.
The representative of the ARF Supreme Body added that their party is interested in forming new political forces capable of having an influential presence in parliament. "The more such forces and blocs are represented, the more favorable the environment for a change of power in the country will be," the MP believes.
Saghatelyan emphasized that if a situation arises in which the removal of the current regime from power depends on their cooperation with other participants, they will be prepared to engage in such interaction with genuine opposition forces. In this regard, he reported that over the past month, negotiations have been underway with various political forces regarding five important issues (Saghatelyan did not list each of them - ed.). One of these issues is the need to avoid targeting each other, given their shared goal.
"Regardless of the format of each force's participation in the elections, there are key issues on the agenda around which cooperation becomes vital," the representative of the ARF Supreme Body noted. ArmInfo had previously reported that the ARF Dashnaktsutyun party will participate in the 2026 parliamentary elections in Armenia as a bloc. Parliamentary elections in Armenia are scheduled for June 7, 2026.