Gallup: Armenia ruling bloc's rating down by 4.5% within a monthMay 3, 2021 - 19:35 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The approval rating of Armenia's ruling My Step bloc, which is led by acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, dropped by 4.5% within just a month, two separate surveys conducted by Gallup International in March and April reveal. 31.7% of respondents said in late March – and 27.2% in late April – that they would vote for Pashinyan's bloc if elections were held next Sunday, Gallup said. Support for ex-President Robert Kocharyan, meanwhile, grew over the one-month period – from 5.9% to 8.1%. All the other relatively major political forces too lost ground, according to the survey. Prosperous Armenia's rating fell from 4.4% to 3.7%, as did those of Bright Armenia (from 2.7% to 1.8%), the Republican Party (from 2.4% to 1.1%) and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation - Dashnaktsutyun (from 2.1% to 1.8%). On the other side, more people said they are going to participate in elections – up from 41.2% to 48.3% in April, Gallup said. Pashinyan announced on March 18 that Armenia will hold snap parliamentary elections on June 20. The PM came under fire after signing a statement with the Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents to end the war in Nagorno-Karabakh almost 45 days after the start of the military hostilities. Under the deal, the Armenian side was forced to return all the seven regions surrounding Karabakh, having lost a part of Karabakh itself in hostilities. Top stories The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan has visited the southern Armenian province of Syunik, the Defense Ministry reported on March 18. Partner news | European Parliament to discuss repression in Azerbaijan The European Parliament will discuss repression of civil society in Azerbaijan on April 24 PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Cyprus parliament honors Armenian genocide victims Acting House President Zacharias Koulias noted that April 24 marks the “black anniversary” of the Armenian genocide. Armenia PM, France envoy discuss regional matters Issues related to the consistent development of Armenia-France cooperation were discussed. |