Political analysts point to Pashinyan's readiness to use administrative resources at elections

The authorities have used administrative resources when organizing a rally in Yerevan and will do the same in case of elections, but the opposition has enough supporters to effectively control the voting, political analysts believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 1, supporters of Nikol Pashinyan, the Armenian Prime Minister, and of the opposition held their parallel rallies in Yerevan. The opposition accused the authorities of using the administrative resource in an attempt to ensure the mass nature of the rally scheduled for today in the centre of Yerevan.

The March 1 governmental rally, of course, gathered more people than the oppositional one, but there are doubts about the voluntary participation of people in the action organized by Pashinyan, said Naira Airumyan, a political observer and the editor of the Russian-language version of the "Lragir" online edition,.

She has stated that Pashinyan is actively using his administrative resources, which can be used at elections. "Despite the possession of main mass media, despite the freedom of rallies, the opposition lacks resources to promote its position," Ms Airumyan has concluded.

In case of early elections, the opposition will have enough supporters to efficiently control the voting, Daniel Ionnisyan, the head of the "Union of Informed Citizens" Programme, which monitors elections in Armenia, has noted, however. "Of course, the opposition will find 2000 observers to cover all the polling stations throughout Armenia," Mr Ionnisyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 2, 2021 at 09:11 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.