Armenia's PM escalates pressure on opposition after elections

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has intensified confrontation with opposition figures following Armenia's June 7 parliamentary elections, in which his Civil Contract party retained power but failed to secure a constitutional majority. In a parliamentary address, Pashinyan singled out former President Robert Kocharyan, businessman Samvel Karapetyan, and Prosperous Armenia leader Gagik Tsarukyan as threats to national security, vowing to personally pursue them. The remarks coincide with legal and administrative actions against opposition figures, including criminal proceedings against Kocharya and travel restrictions on other opposition candidates. Tsarukyan's party narrowly missed the 4 percent threshold needed for parliamentary representation, finishing at 3.989 percent. Opposition figures have characterized the post-election environment as an intimidation campaign designed to weaken challenges to the official electoral outcome.