Armenia has successfully held two snap parliamentary elections, which were recognized - both domestically and internationally - as free, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, stated during a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
According to Mirzoyan, this demonstrated that the will of the citizens must be accurately reflected in the ballot boxes.
“This June, parliamentary elections will be held in Armenia. For us, this is an important milestone in strengthening the irreversibility of our democracy. This is the moment when the Armenian people will show that their will is the sole source of power in our country.
At the same time, we are not naïve about the realities of the modern world. We know that the enemies of freedom never sleep. We must acknowledge that they can be highly creative. They are ready to invest millions of dollars in propaganda machines and illegal scenarios of interference, and they possess almost unlimited media resources. They seek to undermine our sovereign choice for peace and democracy and to drag us back into the darkness of authoritarianism, endless conflict with neighbors, and weakened sovereignty. They want to use the tools and mechanisms of democracy to dismantle and destroy democracy itself. Confronting these challenges has become a daily task,” he said.
In this context, according to Mirzoyan, a dilemma arises between safeguarding freedom of speech and acting decisively against malicious actors who, as the Foreign Minister noted, aim to erode trust in society and democracy - efforts that are expected to intensify further as parliamentary elections approach.
“But I stand here to say: they will not succeed. Our society has developed immunity to lies,” the Minister said, emphasizing that democratic tools will be relied upon to defend democracy.
“We will be both vigilant and resolute together with our partners, including the Council of Europe and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. We will ensure that these elections serve as proof of democratic resilience,” he concluded.
