Pashinyan rules out new parliamentary elections in Armenia

YEREVAN. June 18 (Interfax) - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has ruled out the possibility of holding new parliamentary elections amid the opposition's allegations that the elections held on June 7 were rigged.

"Of course not. We are not going to hold new elections," Pashinyan told reporters in reply to a corresponding question.

The Armenian Central Electoral Commission earlier published the final results of the June 7 parliament elections. Pashinyan's Civil Contract party gained over 49.7% of the vote, enabling it to form a new government singlehandedly. The Strong Armenia alliance led by Tashir Group founder and owner Samvel Karapetyan gained around 23.3% of the vote, and former President Robert Kocharyan's Armenia alliance over 9.9%. The Prosperous Armenia party led by businessman Gagik Tsarukyan gained around 3.9% of the vote and failed to pass the 4% election threshold.

Pashinyan said earlier that the opposition forces that qualified for parliament in the elections on June 7 gained their mandates illegally and should be barred from political activity. Pashinyan said that the upcoming agenda of the party he leads would be to strip the heads of the three opposition forces, namely, Karapetyan, Kocharyan, and Tsarukyan, of their property. "They must starve so that they won't even think of handing out election bribes. This is a political agenda, and in this sense, the revolution can no longer be a velvet one," Pashinyan said.

The Anti-Corruption Committee proposed earlier that the Justice Ministry legislatively prohibit political forces accused of corrupt dealings during elections from participating in electoral processes.