Samvel Karapetyan: 106 Withdrawals from ‘Strong Armenia’ Alliance are Part of a Secret Plan
Yerevan, July 9, 2026 – Samvel Karapetyan, leader of the ‘Strong Armenia’ party, declared today that the decision by 106 parliamentary candidates from his alliance to withdraw their candidacies is part of a secret plan. Speaking to reporters, Karapetyan also addressed the issue of the opposition’s candidate for Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, stating that this matter has not yet been discussed.
Karapetyan reiterated that the Constitutional Court confirmed that allegations of electoral bribery against the ‘Strong Armenia’ party are unfounded. He clarified that these statements are aimed at diverting attention from the authorities’ own electoral bribery, which he claims amounts to several billion. According to the opposition leader, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s failures will only deepen day by day as he loses touch with reality.
Opposition Strategy and Upcoming Actions
“I have already said that there will be a trigger that the opposition will use. We are waiting for fatal mistakes from the authorities, and on that day, the opposition, including Tsarukyan, will have its say,” noted Samvel Karapetyan. The opposition figure assured that he and Robert Kocharyan cannot be intimidated by imprisonment, so the authorities need to come up with something new if they are planning anything against them.
Commenting on the recent prank involving OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid, orchestrated by Russian pranksters impersonating Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the ‘Strong Armenia’ leader observed that European structures have been assisting Pashinyan for a year in his fight against both the church and the opposition.
The ‘Secret Plan’ and Candidate Withdrawals
Samvel Karapetyan asserted that the decision of 106 parliamentary candidates from their alliance to withdraw is part of a secret plan. He emphasized that all these individuals remain his supporters, and having endured repression, they cannot be considered untrustworthy. “This is simply our political tactic. Such a decision was also made to protect them from possible repression,” the politician stated, expressing confidence that none of them will join the authorities.
Response to Defense Minister Papikyan
Responding to statements by Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan, Karapetyan stressed that his sons and nephews have done hundreds of thousands of times more for the army than Papikyan would do even in 5000 years, if he lived that long. “So let Papikyan think about himself. My sons and nephews did not serve in the army for respectable reasons,” he concluded.
