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The Strong Armenia party has announced that Narek Karapetyan will lead its party list for the upcoming parliamentary election.
Narek Karapetyan, the nephew of business tycoon Samvel Karapetyan, previously led the Mer Dzevov (Our Way) movement, which was the foundation of the new party, Strong Armenia.
The party said that Narek Karapetyan will top the list in the role of a “transitional coordinator.”
“Narek Karapetyan will appear as the first candidate on the Strong Armenia party list, in the capacity of transitional coordinator,” party member Gohar Meloyan said in a statement on social media.
Strong Armenia, a new party established by the Mer Dzevov (Our Way) movement, announced last week that business tycoon Samvel Karapetyan will be its prime ministerial candidate in the upcoming general election, despite an apparent constitutional barrier.
Constitutional requirements for an MP or prime minister in Armenia include having resided in the country for at least the previous four years and holding exclusively Armenian citizenship during that period. Karapetyan is reported to hold dual citizenship and has been based mostly abroad.
The party explained that if it wins the election, it would initiate a legislative amendment, change the relevant law, and elect Samvel Karapetyan.
According to lawyer Siranush Sahakyan, who spoke at the party’s assembly, changing the regulation stipulated in Article 148 of the Constitution does not require a referendum, as it is not considered an eternity clause.
Samvel Karapetyan was earlier elected president of the Strong Armenia party.
Samvel Karapetyan, the owner of the Tashir Group of Companies, is facing charges of calling for a coup and money laundering. He denies any wrongdoing. He was arrested in the summer of 2025 and placed in pretrial detention. On December 30, he was granted house arrest, later returned to custody, and subsequently placed under house arrest again.