Armenian speaker enters 2026 election contest alongside PM Pashinyan

Chairman of the National Assembly of Armenia, Alen Simonyan, who represents the ruling Civil Contract Party, has confirmed his participation in the country’s upcoming parliamentary elections.

According to reports by Armenian media cited by Caliber.Az, Simonyan has submitted his candidacy for inclusion in the party’s national proportional list ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections.

His announcement follows that of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who earlier declared his intention to seek another term in the same elections.

Several other prominent figures have also indicated plans to run, including former President Robert Kocharyan, former Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan, and representatives of the “Our Way” movement, whose ideological leader is businessman Samvel Karapetyan.

Pashinyan has framed his re-election campaign as a renewed mandate for “peace, sovereignty, and reform,” referring to the U.S.-brokered peace agreement with Azerbaijan reached in August 2025. He has pledged to focus on strengthening Armenia’s economy, advancing integration with Western partners, and modernising the country’s armed forces.

The parliamentary elections, scheduled for June 7, 2026, will be the first regularly held national vote since 2017 and the first full-term contest under Pashinyan’s leadership following the snap elections of 2021.

The results will determine the composition of Armenia’s unicameral National Assembly, which elects the prime minister — the most influential position in the country’s parliamentary system established by the 2015 constitutional reforms.

By Tamilla Hasanova