In the end, which is right: to take or not to take the mandates? – Ruben Melikyan

The elections were completely rigged, lawyer Ruben Melikyan wrote.
“It happened before all of our eyes – both before the campaign (for example, through the ‘extraordinary’ increase in pensions), during the campaign (use of administrative resources, political persecution, and other methods), and on election day itself.

However, the Civil Contract did not achieve the desired result – neither a constitutional majority nor 50% + 1 of the votes. 

Even with total rigging, it did not succeed. This was made possible thanks to the unprecedented engagement of our conscious citizens. Whether this is a major achievement or only a small consolation, I cannot say.

In any case, the fact remains that citizens who voted for the opposition, as in 2021, voted for a change of government – not for the opposition to operate in a parliament controlled by the Civil Contract party, which often uses hostile rhetoric toward the opposition.

Ultimately, the question is: should the mandates be taken or not? I propose resolving this issue by prioritizing the will of the voters. An ‘opposition referendum’ should be held by mid-July, allowing voters themselves to decide whether they authorize the elected representatives to take their mandates. During this period, all arguments for and against should be openly discussed in the public sphere.”