Analysts have assessed the chances of "second league" parties to enter the National Assembly of Armenia.

Armenian parties, which have fewer supporters than the ruling party's main opponents, have announced in their election platforms an end to pressure on the church, reform of the judicial system, and strengthening the country's security, including revising the terms of the peace treaty with Baku. Political analysts predict that not all of these four parties will be able to enter parliament.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," the Armenian opposition remains fragmented amid the campaign that began on May 8 and the increasing pressure: the main opposition parties are competing for votes and political leadership. Representatives of the "Strong Armenia" and "Armenia" blocs pointed to the importance of partnership with Russia but emphasized the need for an independent country.

18:18 22.05.2026

Armenia's future has become a central focus of election campaigning

Nikol Pashinyan stated that Armenia will never enter into conflict with Moscow, while his main opponents in the parliamentary elections focused on the country's future and the security of its residents.

According to the Armenian office of the Gallup International Association, 28.8% of voters are ready to vote for the ruling Civil Contract party, 14.9% for the opposition Strong Armenia bloc, 12.1% for the Armenia bloc, and 8.7% for the opposition Prosperous Armenia party. Representative Aram Navasardyan announced these figures on May 22 while presenting the survey results. The telephone survey, conducted from May 19 to 21, polled 1,102 people, News.am reports.

According to the survey, the Wings of Unity party of former Armenian Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan is in fifth place. Next comes the DOK (Democracy, Law, and Discipline) party of blogger Vardan Ghukasyan, who is under arrest in the United States, with 3.1%. Edmon Marukyan's Enlightened Armenia Party came in 7th, while political scientist Gurgen Simonyan's Grateful Party of Armenia came in 8th with 2.3% of the vote.

Representatives of these four parties spoke to a Caucasian Knot correspondent on May 22 about the specifics of their political platforms.

Wings of Unity Opposes Pressure on the Church

Wings of Unity Party representative Narek Gevorgyan emphasized his opposition to the current government. In his opinion, in Armenia, "a systemic struggle against national identity and the church is being waged at the state level."

We are for the preservation of Armenian identity

"Despite pressure and attempts to create a schism within the clergy, the number of young people in churches has only increased recently. Voting for the ruling party in the upcoming June 7 elections will be a direct blow to the church, after which the authorities will immediately use force against religious institutions. And we oppose this; we are for the preservation of Armenian identity," he said.

According to Gevorkyan, the country's law enforcement system is completely paralyzed and "preoccupied solely with maintaining one person's position." "An atmosphere of complete lawlessness has developed in the republic, in which supporters of the government enjoy absolute protection, while ordinary citizens and opposition members are subject to repression. […] And the Wings of Unity party is going to the elections to unite the people and restore dignity to the state," stated Narek Gevorkyan.

He added that the party unites people "not involved in the corruption schemes of either the past or current authorities." "The party prioritizes providing young people with real leverage over the country, creating jobs in the regions to prevent population outflow, and implementing social support programs, including free higher education and housing for large families," the opposition leader concluded.

"DOK" plans to reform the judicial system

The main goal of the "DOK" party is to establish a "dictatorship of law" in the country, which should apply equally to everyone, said the head of the party's campaign headquarters, Levon Baghdasaryan. "We must restore the dignity of the state, the force of law, and eliminate the embezzlement of public funds," he explained.

One of the key points of the election platform is a radical reform of the judicial system, the opposition leader noted.

Judges cannot be objective due to the restrictions imposed by the executive branch rules

“Today, judges cannot be objective due to the rules of the game imposed by the executive branch and the colossal workload of the courts, with each judge handling 5,000-6,000 cases. A third of court cases are the result of inaction or illegal actions by government agencies. We propose giving the judiciary full powers so that judges are not constrained only by punishment according to the letter of the law, but can compel government agencies to improve the standard of living of citizens if their rights have been violated,” he noted.

After coming to power, the DOK intends to legislatively prohibit MPs from switching parties. “In the Armenian parliament, MPs often switch camps in droves, since the current law gives them this freedom, which is detrimental to the country. The DOK has developed a clear mechanism to neutralize the risks of political betrayal: all of their candidates have signed a civil-law contract, according to which they are obliged to resign their mandate if they abandon the party’s ideology. If a MP decides "If he switches sides, he must pay the party a huge fine," Baghdasaryan said.

As for the lack of an active campaign, here too, according to a party representative, they decided to be different. "The DOK Party has abandoned the traditional election campaign and street meetings, since the rhetoric of throwing mud at each other in the streets is not appropriate for the country. We present our programs exclusively online," he said.

Among the goals of the Bright Armenia party is a revision of the terms of the peace treaty with Baku

One of the main promises of the Bright Armenia party is the liquidation of the Compulsory Enforcement Service of Judicial Acts and the reform of the collection system.

It is necessary to stop the practice of planning fines in the state budget as a source of income.

"Today, citizens "They have become mere 'material for fines' for the state, and their bank accounts are immediately and unjustifiably frozen. It is necessary to stop the practice of planning fines into the state budget as a source of income. Instead, we must introduce mechanisms that protect citizens' rights and property from punitive fiscal pressure. We promise to completely eliminate this body in its current form and implement a fundamentally different system," said party leader Edmon Marukyan. Marukyan also sees breaking the Central Bank's monopoly and reducing the credit burden on residents as another goal. "Bright Armenia will achieve a sharp reduction in interest rates on loans and dismantle the system that has created the conditions for the financial robbery of the population." […] As a systemic solution, it is necessary not only to limit interest rates, but also to legally prohibit employees of state financial institutions and the Central Bank from moving to management positions in private commercial banks immediately after dismissal,” he said.

Also, if passed into parliament, the party promises to initiate a review and amendment in favor of Armenia of a number of key points in the already initialed text of the peace treaty with Azerbaijan.

“Firstly, the exclusion of the principle of the presence of third forces in the border territories of Armenia and Azerbaijan; secondly, the abolition of the clauses that would oblige Yerevan, at Baku's request, to initiate criminal cases and conduct investigations against Armenian participants in the wars of the last 30 years. Thirdly, never sign a document that does not include a clear map recording Azerbaijan's recognition of Armenia's sovereign borders," Marukyan listed, adding that this would be a topic for negotiations with Baku.

The Gratitude Party is concerned about the country's security

The main task of the Gratitude Party of Armenia is to ensure the country's security with its own forces, stated this party's representative Artak Paytyan.

"Armenia's security must rely exclusively on its own forces. Security is a complex concept that includes military, economic, informational, and psychological components, therefore all citizens, regardless of party affiliation, bear responsibility for it. As an example of an effective defense model, I can name "Switzerland, which has built a deeply layered, multi-level system that has deterred other states from military aggression for decades," he said.

Both Turkey, which is not formally hostile, and Russia could behave unpredictably.

Azerbaijan remains a hostile state for Armenia until key fundamental problems are resolved, Paytyan believes.

"We are not planning any military action against Baku, but the risks of escalation remain because there are many unresolved issues. And until there is stability, no one can predict Azerbaijan's moves. Furthermore, both Turkey, which is not formally hostile, and Russia, which is generally considered a friendly country, but whose past actions towards Armenia raise questions, could behave unpredictably," he noted.

For this reason, the politician is confident, the republic needs the support of external partners. "However, this is not about "The introduction of foreign troops into Armenia's territory. Yerevan must actively develop military-technical, educational, and practical cooperation with NATO countries without joining the alliance itself. Through external technological and educational support, Armenia will be able to raise its defense capabilities to a level that will allow it to effectively deter regional adversaries," Paytyan emphasized.

Political scientists point to the pre-election difficulties of the "second league" parties

Political scientist and former member of the Armenian parliament Mikael Zolyan is confident that these political forces have little chance of entering parliament. "Not all of these four parties will be able to get into parliament because the competition for votes is between other parties. It will be very difficult to gain the necessary number of votes to get into parliament. Of the parties you mentioned, I think the ones with the best chances are Gurgen Simonyan [the "Grateful Party of Armenia"] and blogger Vardan Ghukasyan [the "DOK" party]," he told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Simonyan positions himself as a pro-Western leader, the political scientist noted. "He hasn't held any previous positions and has no ties to either the government or the opposition. He'll likely attract votes from people who don't want to vote for Pashinyan, but aren't ready to vote for pro-Russian forces either. This is where Simonyan could find himself in a winning position," he said.

They share the same agenda as more influential opposition politicians.

Vardan Ghukasyan, according to the political scientist, is "a typical populist, more likely a pro-Russian populist." "He's under arrest in the US, and without him, it will be very difficult for [his allies] to mobilize all their supporters. But if they succeed, then I admit they could gain a percentage of the vote. As for [Edmon] Marukyan and [Arman] Tatoyan, who position themselves as pro-Russian forces, I think their chances are slim. "Only their most loyal supporters will vote for them because they share the same agenda as more influential opposition politicians like Samvel Karapetyan and Robert Kocharyan," Zolyan noted.

There is a ruling party and three opposition forces that are the main participants in the struggle.

Political scientist Armen Badalyan agrees that these parties are unlikely to enter parliament. "There is a ruling party and three opposition forces that are the main participants in the struggle for votes. Let's call them the first league players. There are second league players, which include the parties you are talking about. And so the second league players will fight to snatch the votes of voters who want to vote for the first league players. It will be very difficult for them to garner enough votes to meet the minimum required number of votes for parties – 4% of the total number of voters," he said. "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to him, everything is complicated by the fact that there is also a "third league of players" who will try to take away votes from the second league players. "And this further complicates the work of these parties. Therefore, I say that they have very little chance of getting into parliament," Badalyan pointed out.

As a reminder, the promises of the four main political forces participating in the parliamentary elections concerned reducing poverty, creating new jobs, increasing pensions and GDP. According to analysts, most of these promises are simply populism.

The Kremlin is placing its bets on Karapetyan, but by law he cannot participate in the elections, Armenian political scientists previously pointed out. "Caucasian Knot" has prepared a report " href="https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/420973">2026 Elections to the National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia".