The Armenian economy will suffer if snap parliamentary elections sought by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian are delayed until next year, the head of the State Revenue Committee (SRC), Davit Ananian, said on Thursday.
“In places where the situation is not stable in the political sense business takes a back seat and waits to see what kind of political solutions there will be,” Ananian told reporters. “So the prime minister is definitely right.”
“The longer this wait-and-see situation persists, the worse for the country,” he said.
Vahagn Khachatrian, an economist affiliated with former President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress (HAK) party, agreed. “Business loves stability,” Khachatrian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).
Pashinian began pushing for the holding of such elections in December immediately after his political alliance won municipal polls held in Yerevan on September 23. He has argued, among other things, that political uncertainty resulting from his team’s modest presence in the current Armenian parliament is hampering badly needed investments in the domestic economy.
The Republican (HHK) and Prosperous Armenia (BHK) parties, which control the two largest parliamentary factions, want the elections to be held in May. A senior BHK lawmaker on Monday challenged Pashinian to name those investors who are reluctant to expand or set up businesses in Armenia before the polls.
Meanwhile, Pashinian’s chief adviser, Arsen Gasparian, said on Thursday that “pre-term parliamentary elections have absolutely nothing to do with investors.” “Pre-term elections are first and foremost the people’s demand,” he said.
“In August and September many investors from various parts of the world visited my office,” Gasparian told reporters. “I must say that entrepreneurs regard the political changes that have occurred in Armenia as very positive.”
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