One year after the “Velvet Revolution” that brought Nikol Pashinian to power, most Armenians continue to support his government and remain optimistic about their country’s future, according to a U.S.-funded opinion poll.
The nationwide poll was commissioned by the Washington-based International Republican Institute (IRI) and conducted in May by the Baltic Survey/The Gallup Organization and the Armenian Sociological Association (ASA). It was financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
The survey released by the IRI late on Monday shows, in particular, that 60 percent of 1,200 randomly interviewed people across Armenia believe that their country is heading in the right direction.
Although the figure represents a 12 percentage point drop from the previous IRI survey conducted in October, the U.S. institute said it indicates a “significant expression of continued confidence in the new government.”
Accordingly, 59 percent of those polled said they would vote for Pashinian’s My Step bloc if Armenia held general elections next Sunday. Businessman Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) would finish second with 12 percent, followed by the former ruling Republican Party (HHK), whose top leader, Serzh Sarkisian, was overthrown in last year’s revolution. The HHK was backed by 5 percent of respondents, making it the third most popular party.
Armenia -- Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian attends a parliament session in Yerevan, January 14, 2019.
My Step garnered over 70 percent of the vote in the December 2018 elections. The opinion poll suggests that popular support for Pashinian’s bloc has somewhat declined since then. It indicates slight increases in the BHK’s and the HHK’s popularities.
In the December polls, the HHK narrowly failed to clear the 5 percent vote threshold for entering the new Armenian parliament. Gevorg Poghosian, the ASA head whose organization carried out the fieldwork for the survey, predicted that Sarkisian’s party will attract a larger following over time because it is the country’s “most pronounced opposition force” that regularly and strongly criticizes the current authorities.
When asked about the Pashinian government’s biggest achievements, the largest proportion of respondents (27 percent) pointed to a decrease in corruption, while 11 percent singled out “the improved psychological state of people.” Only 3 percent chose “socioeconomic improvement” as an answer to the question.
“Bad management” was the most frequent answer (22 percent) to a question about the government’s biggest failures. And almost one in ten respondents blamed it for “political instability” in the country.
Even so, as much as 72 percent of respondents were satisfied with Pashinian’s performance. President Armen Sarkissian, who has largely ceremonial powers, and the Armenian military had even higher approval ratings: 81 percent and 80 percent respectively.
“The goodwill expressed by the Armenian people presents the Armenian government with an unprecedented opportunity to undertake fundamental reforms that strengthen the country’s democracy and improve the economic well-being of its people,” Stephen Nix, the IRI director for Eurasia, said in a statement.
“The government’s speedy delivery on reforms will be key to maintaining its strong public support and the momentum to press on with its agenda,” Nix added.