Narek Karapetyan, head of the Strong Armenia parliamentary faction, has accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of using searches and pressure against the opposition in an attempt to secure its support for holding a constitutional referendum. He made the remarks on November 4, following a search at his home.

“I was not at home when masked special forces officers stormed in today to conduct searches,” he told reporters on November 4.

Karapetyan said family members, including children, had been at home at the time. He noted that this was the fourth search and added that his youngest child had been pleased by the officers’ arrival.

In his view, the searches were part of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s efforts to persuade the opposition to support holding a constitutional referendum and secure its approval. Karapetyan recalled that Pashinyan had previously said he would try to convince opposition members to vote in favor of holding such a referendum, and argued that the current actions amounted to intimidation.

He added that searches had been launched at 67 addresses and that the authorities would attempt to arrest hundreds of people. However, he said the public should understand that the opposition was facing these actions on behalf of the people.

According to Karapetyan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was imposing a constitution on Armenia that would weaken the country. He said he and the Strong Armenia movement stood firmly against this, noting that Azerbaijani officials were calling every day for Armenia to amend its Constitution. Karapetyan added that the struggle was continuing and that it was a fight for the country's independence.

Earlier reports said that investigators from the Investigative Committee had been conducting searches since early morning at the homes of Samvel Karapetyan, leader of the Strong Armenia party, and Narek Karapetyan, head of the bloc's parliamentary faction.