Sources say Narek Karapetyan, nephew of Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, will lead his newly formed opposition movement in Armenia’s June parliamentary elections.
Karapetyan launched the Mer Dzevov (In Our Way) movement in late August, two months after his arrest following criticism of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan over efforts to remove Catholicos Garegin II. The movement claims 20,000 members and plans to establish a party, Strong Armenia, to contest the elections. Karapetyan himself cannot run for prime minister due to his Russian citizenship.
Narek Karapetyan has emerged as the group’s main public face, focusing on economic issues. Mer Dzevov promises large-scale investment, tax exemptions for small businesses, and the creation of 300,000 jobs, while remaining vague on foreign and security policy.
Now under house arrest, Samvel Karapetyan says Pashinyan and his “small clique” will be voted out in June. Pashinyan, meanwhile, has expressed confidence that his Civil Contract party will retain power, a claim opposition figures say is undermined by recent arrests of government critics.
