Opposition Should Take Parliamentary Mandates Despite Fraudulent Election
Even if the election was fraudulent, opposition parties must take their parliamentary mandates. The fight goes on.
In this strategic moment, Ambassador Dziunik Aghajanian addresses a common opposition dilemma: whether to participate in an institution they believe was compromised by fraud. Her answer is direct: take the mandates. This is not capitulation; it is tactical positioning.
Aghajanian frames parliament as a political tool rather than a symbol of legitimacy. Opposition parties will have greater representation than in the previous parliament, giving them a larger platform to oppose the government and expose its actions. More importantly, holding mandates preserves their legal standing and ability to act when conditions shift.
Aghajanian acknowledges the emotional difficulty of this choice. Opposition members find it insulting to participate in a system they believe is rigged, and the ruling party deliberately provokes them with disrespectful rhetoric to provoke street action that would allow the government to arrest opposition leaders and decapitate the movement. However, Aghajanian argues that accepting mandates is not legitimizing the elections-opposition parties own the votes they received and have a duty to represent those voters.
This advice reflects a longer political horizon. Rather than viewing parliament as a final institution, Aghajanian sees it as one arena among many where opposition can organize, speak, and prepare for the next phase of political action. The real battle will unfold as public discontent grows over economic pressure and restrictions; parliament will be a crucial platform from which to mobilize and articulate alternative visions when the moment arrives.
Transcript
Asbed: So so we'll talk a little bit about the Russian warnings in a moment Asbed: But one final question on this topic of post-election if as we expect Asbed: The court is going to make a ruling that is going to continue the current status quo Asbed: And Civil Contract is going to become the ruling party again Asbed: Should the opposition parties take up their parliamentary mandates even Asbed: If they consider the vote was fraudulent? Asbed: What's your opinion? Dziunik: Definitely. Dziunik: I am against them not taking their mandates because first they have Dziunik: A much bigger role now in the parliament than in the previous one. Dziunik: And secondly, this is a weapon they can use Dziunik: To when the time comes to oppose the current government and also I vote it not Dziunik: For them to just throw the mandate away the fight goes on the battle goes Dziunik: On nobody said that it will be an easy job I know it is sometimes very insulting Dziunik: When you hear this Dziunik: Rhetoric from the ruling party and they do it on purpose to insult people Dziunik: On personal level but I think that's what and you know it in the US Dziunik: That they are just washing their dirty linen out in the public but that's part of