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Vice Speaker of Parliament and senior member of the ruling Civil Contract party, Ruben Rubinyan, said on Tuesday that the party expects to retain a majority in the 2026 parliamentary elections scheduled for June 7.
Speaking at a press briefing, Rubinyan, a member of the board of Civil Contract, said that the ruling party’s approval rating exceeds that of any opposition force by several times.
He further described tycoons Gagik Tsarukyan and Samvel Karapetyan as “oligarchs” seeking to influence Armenian politics.
“We are determined to secure a constitutional majority in the 2026 elections. We also believe that [ex-president] Robert Kocharyan and the two oligarchs [Gagik Tsarukyan and Samvel Karapetyan] — and, in general, all oligarchs — should be pushed out of the political arena and parliament,” Rubinyan said.
He added that Tsarukyan, the leader of the Prosperous Armenia party and a businessman, as well as Samvel Karapetyan, the leader of the newly launched Strong Armenia party and described by Rubinyan as a “Russia-based businessman,” seek to influence Armenian politics and are therefore oligarchs.
“The choice will be the following: will people vote for the current government, or will they vote for Kocharyan and the two oligarchs, together with their ‘satellites’?” he said.
Rubinyan noted that there are also other political forces. “I would not oppose other forces receiving votes as well. But Kocharyan and the two oligarchs ought not receive any,” he added.
According to Rubinyan, all indicators show that the Civil Contract party surpasses any opposition force several times over in terms of ratings. The Deputy Speaker said that the party has “no concerns” in that regard but wants the public to understand what is happening in the political arena.
“The people should know that our opposition colleagues have decided to falsely distance themselves from one another. For example, they send people from one force to another. Aram Vardevanyan was initially a legislator from Kocharyan’s faction and Kocharyan’s lawyer; now he is the lawyer of a Russian oligarch and a representative of his team. Andranik Tevanyan was initially a legislator from Kocharyan’s team; now he is with Tsarukyan,” the Vice Speaker said.