President Vahagn Khachaturyan met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan

President of the Republic Vahagn Khachaturyan met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the Presidential Residence.

Ahead of the Prime Minister’s departure on leave, the President wished success to the Government and the Prime Minister in the important and responsible task of organizing and conducting the upcoming elections. The President expressed hope that the Government and the relevant bodies would make every effort to ensure elections that are transparent, free, and in line with the principles and standards of democracy.

Vahagn Khachaturyan also wished success to the political force led by the Prime Minister, as well as to all political forces that have announced their participation in the elections and expect to receive the trust and votes of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia within the framework of the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Armenia.

The Prime Minister informed that, in order to participate in the election campaign, he would be on leave starting from May 8. “It will only be interrupted on May 28, because on the state holiday I have certain duties to fulfill, and there may also be some work-related matters connected with that occasion. But overall, I plan to be actively involved in the campaign. Today, at the Government session, I also said that the most important task is to ensure the functioning of our state institutions, the free expression of the will of the citizens of Armenia, and, of course, the free competition of political ideas and messages in the country.

That is the most important thing, so that the election results truly reflect the will of the people. Naturally, there must also be a fight against unlawful influence on the elections and on the people’s will, which is the responsibility of our state institutions. Of course, in recent years we have done everything possible to strengthen the capacities of the Republic of Armenia so that effective action can also be taken in this regard. I am convinced that our institutions will be able to fulfill this function, ensuring that everything remains exclusively within the sphere of competition of political ideas and messages.

And of course, I would also like to thank You once again for supporting the reform process during this period. I believe that now it is the public’s turn to assess the course and results of the reforms, and the people must give their evaluation through voting. During this period, we will do everything possible to ensure that our people receive as complete information as possible in order to make decisions, although even until now we have done our utmost in that direction,” Prime Minister Pashinyan stated.

President Khachaturyan thanked the Prime Minister for the information and added: “Of course, there is concern in any case, since the head of the Government and some members of the Government are going on leave in order to participate in the election campaign. But this is what our law provides for. I had just met with the President of Latvia and explained to him that our law stipulates it this way. He was somewhat surprised, but this is what our law prescribes, and You are acting in accordance with the law.

In fact, I am confident that You, the Government, and the authorities have done everything to ensure that the elections are conducted transparently, without any problems, and in a way that leaves no doubts regarding the results, because throughout these years the greatest challenge for us has always been elections, and unfortunate events have occurred precisely during electoral and post-electoral periods.

Since 2018, there have been no doubts regarding any elections, but I especially want to mention 2021, because those were snap elections, and You took that step in order to gain the people’s trust, and the people trusted You. During these five years, the Government has carried out tremendous work, and the successes that exist, which are reflected even in economic figures, are proof that those reforms have moved in the right direction.

There was one point, I wanted to write an article about it and am still working on it, though I have not yet managed to finish it. An important change has taken, and I would ask You to pay particular attention to it as well and perhaps present it publicly. The distribution of public wealth in our country has changed. Whereas in the past the number of those creating public wealth was very small: for example, 40 wealthy individuals, now that number has multiplied many times over. As a result, people have started to live better, engage in business, and economic success has followed. It is also because of this that inequality in our country has decreased.

I started looking into the reasons, and the explanation is very simple: laws are functioning, laws are accessible. We use the word “inclusive”, the level of inclusiveness in our economic policy and in the overall policies pursued in the country has increased and become accessible. When I look at the programs presented by the Government, this factor is very important within them, and this is also what shapes the people’s attitude.

Approximately 50,000 apartments are being built, more than one million square meters over the last two years. In the Soviet Union, when 700,000–800,000 square meters were built, it was considered a great success. Now more than one million square meters are being built, and not only the state participates in this process, but also the people, with the support of the state, whereas in the Soviet Union it was the state alone that built.

And when we talk about mortgage loans and the 16 million program, let us present this as well, because people see these opportunities in their everyday lives. And I am confident that in the future as well, state policy must aim to ensure that citizens trust their country, their authorities, and believe in their state.

And the policies implemented by You and your Government are aimed precisely at that, to enable us to respect our state. I repeat once again that I have no doubt the authorities will do everything to ensure that the elections are conducted impeccably, at a high level, and in a trustworthy manner. But I also want the participating sides in the elections to approach the process in the same way, and for all of us to understand that within this electoral process, and in general in the Republic of Armenia, the law exists and no one is above it. And in electoral and non-electoral processes, if violations occur, they must be punished.

Only in this way will we succeed. These are not our personal relations. This is a state, and in a state the law and the Constitution must prevail. Now is the opportunity to present programs aimed at the next five years. Let them present them, let the people evaluate them, and then there will be no doubts that somewhere someone acted wrongly, abused their position, or did not.

Of course, like You, I also have concerns that attempts may be made to do so. But if we compare the level of maturity of our state institutions now with that of 2021, they have become incomparably stronger and more capable of managing the situation. We see this with our own eyes in everyday life. Naturally, there is still much to be done. The concept of reform is continuous—it is part of our daily life. If we do not learn and reform ourselves every day, one day we will realize that we have remained the same and changed nothing.

I wish You success as the head of the Government and the state in organizing the elections successfully, and also success to You as the leader of a political team in the electoral process. I also wish success to all those parties that truly operate within the framework of the law. And I wish them success because I am confident that democracy will prevail in the Republic of Armenia, and this will be a victory for our democracy.”