"This government is not legitimate." Hakob Nikoghosyan

With the persuasion of the opposition forces, in the June 20 elections, Pashinyan's government and CP party were re-elected with the use of soft power, anti-propaganda and using all the levers of the government. The extraordinary elections were meant to solve the internal political crisis created in Armenia and the question of the legitimacy of the authorities, but according to the analysts, the crisis deepened. Hakob Nikoghosyan, a member of the "Armenia" bloc, followed the elections as a proxy of the political force he represented. According to his testimony, all the well-known electoral fraud schemes, for which the Pashinyan government criticized the previous ones, took place in the elections. "I have witnessed how the people of Nikola directed the citizens to vote for them, ballots were taken out of the precinct, the electricity was cut off in our precinct and it was not known what was happening with the ballot boxes," recalls Nikoghosyan. The representative of the opposition emphasizes that until now there are names of citizens who have died or who have not lived in the territory of the Republic of Armenia for a long time, which are managed at the discretion of the authorities and voted in their favor. According to the politician, on that day there was an order from the top to use violence, threats and to silence the active figures of the opposition. Hakob Nikoghosyan was also targeted on election day. Romanos Petrosyan, the head of the KP pre-election headquarters, called him and threatened him with physical retaliation if he continues to interfere in their affairs. For speaking out about the violations he noticed, Hakob Nikoghosyan was forcibly detained by the police and after threats, he was subjected to an administrative fine. "I didn't even have a chance to defend my rights, because obviously the authorities are using the police and NSS forces against the opponents in order to oppress, intimidate and silence them," Nikoghosyan notes. According to the assurance of a member of the "Armenia" alliance, even after the elections, the authorities continue to present as if democratic, fair and transparent elections were held and the government kept its mandate, reaffirming the trust of the people. "It's just propaganda, a lie, the consequences of which our people will still see if we don't continue to fight against this government," concludes Nikoghosyan.