Armenia's politician calls on ex-presidents not to contest 2026 elections

Arman Tatoyan, head of the political initiative Wings of Unity and former Armenian ombudsman, has urged Armenia’s former presidents to refrain from participating in elections.

“In the country, a closed political system has formed with two poles — the current authorities led by Nikol Pashinyan and the former presidents. These two branches effectively feed and reinforce each other,” Tatoyan said, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

Addressing the former presidents, Tatoyan called on them not to take part in the 2026 election campaign if they truly want a change of power.

“Our people have made it clear that former presidents cannot return to power. If they still participate in the elections, they become tools of the authorities, part of the regime,” he emphasised.

For the record, Armenia's upcoming parliamentary elections, scheduled for June 7, 2026, mark the first regularly scheduled national vote since 2017 and the first full-term contest under Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's leadership since the 2021 snap elections. This vote will determine the composition of the unicameral National Assembly (parliament), which in turn nominates the prime minister—the country's most powerful position in its parliamentary republic system established by the 2015 constitutional reforms.

Amid genuine progress in Armenian–Azerbaijani normalisation following the historic agreements reached in August 2025 in Washington, Yerevan now needs to take the final step — to meet Baku’s key demand by amending the Constitution and removing any territorial claims against Azerbaijan. This is essential for establishing lasting peace in the South Caucasus. In this context, it is telling that, despite some differences of opinion on the matter, the constitutional issue remains one of the main priorities for Armenia’s current leadership.

By Khagan Isayev