Armenia electoral bloc intends to accept parliamentary seats, but will appeal to Constitutional Court - bloc leader
YEREVAN. June 22 (Interfax) - The Armenia bloc led by former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan has yet to make a final decision on whether to work in the parliament, but Kocharyan himself believes that the bloc should take the parliamentary seats it won as a result of the June 20 parliamentary elections.
"We in the bloc have yet to decide whether to take these mandates. But my personal opinion on this issue is the following: I think that we have received a mandate to continue our struggle. We have received a serious opportunity to carry on our struggle. Our parliamentary struggle will only strengthen our street struggle. We have a solid record of street struggle. And the combination of struggle in the parliament and on the street will only bolster our capabilities," Kocharyan said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Kocharyan also said that he "can hardly imagine myself working in the parliament."
"I am a person of the executive branch of government. I can barely imagine myself within a legislature. Some members of my team argue that it will be right if I work in the parliament, but I myself don't want to. I haven't made a final decision yet, but I can hardly imagine myself in the parliament," he said.
However, the Armenia electoral bloc will go to the country's Constitutional Court to contest the results of the early parliamentary elections held on June 20, Kocharyan said.
"The election results were a surprise to us. There were mass violations, the use of administrative resources by the current authorities. Therefore, we'll appeal to the Constitutional Court within the next few days in order to contest the election results," he said.
"The elections have considerably changed the political landscape in the country," Kocharyan said.
"Our entry into political competition caused a kind of tsunami on the political stage. And we'll maintain these dynamics and this pace," he said.
If the current authorities continue "working in the same spirit of political vendettas and internal political tensions," Armenia will have to hold new snap elections to parliament, Kocharyan said.
Armenia held early elections to its National Assembly on June 20.
The preliminary results announced by the Armenian Central Elections Commission put voter turnout at 49.4%. The Civil Contract party led by acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has won 53.92% of the vote, the Armenia political bloc has received 21.04% of the vote, and the I Have Honor alliance garnered 5.23% of the vote.