The annual session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is underway in Strasbourg. In her speech, member of the Armenian National Assembly delegation Sona Ghazaryan particularly noted:

 

«Dear President,

 

Dear colleagues,

 

I am pleased to return to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with a new mandate.

 

After free and fair parliamentary elections, the political force led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received a clear majority of votes and was entrusted with the mandate to form a government.

 

I believe these elections were particularly significant in several respects, notably in terms of the scale and nature of external interference, as well as the use of electoral bribery by opposition parties.

 

We witnessed increasingly sophisticated forms of external interference manifested through disinformation, the spread of false theses, cyberattacks, manipulation of the public information space, and attempts to undermine citizens' trust in democratic institutions.

 

The Council of Europe has also recognized external information manipulation and interference as a growing challenge to Armenia's democratic security. There was also an important economic component. Political pressure was accompanied by economic pressure through restrictions on the import of several goods aimed at influencing the political choices of a sovereign country.

 

As Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasized in his speech at the UN, one of the key achievements of Armenia's 2018 Velvet Revolution is the strengthening of state institutions and democratic mechanisms. The 2026 elections demonstrated that these institutions are capable of protecting the electoral process, safeguarding citizens' right to vote, and ensuring that the democratic choice of the Armenian people is freely expressed, even under significant external pressure.

 

The outcome of these elections is a choice in favor of peace and regional cooperation, democratic institutions, the rule of law, accountable governance, economic opportunities, and closer cooperation with European structures.

 

And that choice must belong to the people of Armenia, not to a foreign government, not to external forces, not to economic pressure, and not to disinformation.

 

The principle is clear: Armenia's elections must be determined in Armenia by the citizens of Armenia through a free and democratic process.

 

This is not just a matter of Armenia's sovereignty.

 

This is a fundamental principle of European democracy».

 

It should be noted that the Armenian National Assembly delegation, led by Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Hayk Konjoryan, is participating in the fourth part of the annual session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).