Political Scientist: As long as the opposition remains silent,  Pashinyan can use Plan B and secure a constitutional majority

ArmInfo.  As long as the opposition remains silent, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan can use Plan B and secure a constitutional majority of two-thirds. This opinion  was expressed by political scientist Benjamin Matevosyan, following  the opposition's lack of action following the June 7 parliamentary  elections and Pashinyan's recent statements.

As the expert recalled, the Armenian prime minister began threatening  the leaders of the three main opposition forces during the  pre-election period. However, as Matevosyan noted, after the election  processes, during the first question-and-answer session in  parliament, Pashinyan began threatening, de facto, all Armenian  citizens who voted for the opposition forces. "They say that if you  don't engage in politics, politics engages you. But in Armenia, it's  true: if you don't have a Plan B, then others will implement that  Plan B against you. The opposition essentially failed to achieve its  goal, which was to change power through elections. Furthermore, on  the night of June 7-8, it missed the opportunity to start a  revolution. The future will tell why," Matevosyan noted in a video  posted on his Facebook page.

However, as the political scientist noted, it was precisely due to  the active participation of citizens that the Civil Contract party  failed to secure a constitutional majority, meaning it failed to  secure the mandate to implement its externally imposed obligations  regarding the removal of Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II and  constitutional amendments. "Meanwhile, Pashinyan attributes his  continued power to external support. This means that if the Armenian  prime minister cannot quickly resolve this issue and secure a  constitutional majority, he will no longer be needed," the political  scientist believes. In this situation, according to the expert,  Pashinyan himself could already implement Plan B. For example, as  Matevosyan explained, he could find those in the emerging parliament  who would ensure his majority. "If the Strong Armenia and Armenia  blocs refuse their mandates, the Civil Contract party could appeal to  the Constitutional Court and attempt to distribute the mandates among  the factions that support Pashinyan," the expert explained (the  Constitution does not provide for such a mechanism - ed.).

Furthermore, Matevosyan believes, the Armenian prime minister could  resign after some time and hold snap elections. "The opposition must  be prepared for such a development. Even in this case, it is  necessary to have a Plan B. Because the authorities will also try to  arrest key opposition figures, limit their financial resources, and  more," the political scientist concluded.

As a reminder, parliamentary elections were held in Armenia on June  7, 2026. On June 14, Central Election Commission Chairman Vahagn  Hovakimyan presented the final results of the parliamentary  elections.  According to him, the Civil Contract Party won seats in  the Armenian parliament with 49.7456% of the vote, Samvel  Karapetyan's Strong Armenia bloc won 23.2710%, and second president  Robert Kocharyan's Armenia bloc won 9.9231%. Gagik Tsarukyan's  Prosperous Armenia Party failed to pass the 4% parliamentary  threshold following a recount, receiving only 3.9893%.

Tsarukyan's party failed to pass the threshold after the Central  Election Commission annulled the results of three polling stations  where Tsarukyan's party received more than 200 votes. According to  Hovakimyan, the seats were distributed as follows: Pashinyan's party  won 64 seats, securing a constitutional majority of 3/5 in  parliament. The Karpetyan bloc has 29 seats, and the Kocharyan bloc  has 12 seats. Thus, the Civil Contract party has a 3/5 majority,  which allows it to pass constitutional laws and make appointments,  but it lacks the 2/3 majority necessary to directly amend the  Armenian Constitution.