The narrative about refusing parliamentary mandates is being promoted by the authorities and forces supporting them, according to Samvel Karapetyan, leader of the Strong Armenia alliance, Sputnik Armenia reported.

Karapetyan said no final decision has yet been made regarding whether opposition forces will take their seats in the National Assembly, adding that the issue should be discussed with all opposition groups.

“If the opposition does not take the mandates, the authorities will gain the opportunity to control the National Assembly on their own. On one side there is this issue; on the other, by taking the mandates, there is the question of providing legitimacy to the authorities,” Karapetyan said.

He noted that there is still time to make a decision and that the next step will be filing an appeal with the Constitutional Court seeking to invalidate the election results.

According to the Strong Armenia leader, regardless of the eventual decision, his alliance will continue its efforts to achieve a change of government, arguing that otherwise the country will be left with what he described as a non-legitimate government.

Karapetyan said he is confident in the strength of his team and is not concerned that the authorities may attempt to persuade members of the alliance to defect.

“Of course, they will make attempts; we have no illusions about that. However, I am confident in the resilience of our people. Naturally, we will also make attempts. It will not be a one-sided process because they no longer have legitimate authority. We hope for the opposite outcome,” he said.

Karapetyan also argued that the Constitutional Court must deliver a lawful ruling because, in his view, there is no doubt that the Prosperous Armenia Party (PPA) crossed the 4 percent threshold but was deprived of representation after the results of three polling districts were annulled and, according to him, the issue was resolved unlawfully, Auroranews.am reported.

He said the objective is first to secure what he considers a correct court decision and, if necessary, later discuss the possibility of holding new elections.

Karapetyan called on political forces that, in his assessment, genuinely seek political change and are not cooperating with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to join the ongoing process openly and transparently.

Final results of the June 7 parliamentary elections were published on June 14. The ruling Civil Contract received 726,819 votes, or 49.7456 percent. Strong Armenia won 340,006 votes, or 23.2710 percent, while the Hayastan Alliance secured 144,983 votes, or 9.9231 percent.

The Prosperous Armenia Party failed to pass the 4 percent threshold, receiving 58,287 votes, or 3.9893 percent.

Civil Contract is set to hold 64 parliamentary seats, including three reserved for national minority representatives. Strong Armenia will have 29 seats, including one Assyrian representative, while the Hayastan Alliance will receive 12 seats.