The upcoming elections are pre-arranged - New Times party leader Aram Karapetyan.

The opposition New Times party has taken a political decision not to run for parliament in May as it considers the outcome pre-arranged, Aram Karapetyan, the leader of the party has said.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the politician claimed that the election will fall short of being free or fair.

“We have absolutely no problem in terms of financial, economic or human resources. These elections are pre-arranged; so are the outcomes. They are not going to be free and fair,” he said.

The authorities’ only goal, according to the Karapetyan, is to pave way to a serious rather than a simple majority in parliament.

“The other parties will be given formal seats because when the president asked for €1.5 bn assistance in Brussels, they called for a democratic election,” he said, arguing that Armenia’s democracy is being put up to auction in that way.

Karapetyan noted that the authorities’ investments in the electoral campaign will exceed the financial resources of the entire opposition.
“The radical opposition’s only way to struggle taking to the streets. If the opposition finds another option, they can be awarded a Nobel Prize,” he added.