YEREVAN. – If the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) does not form a coalition with the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), it could form a coalition with the Orinats Yerkir (Rule of Law) Party (RLP), or the Heritage Party, political scientist Stepan Grigoryan said during a press conference on Thursday.    

In his words, Heritage is no longer an opposition party, and this is demonstrated by the first part of its party list in the May 6 parliamentary elections and its demeanor during the campaign season.

“Yesterday’s and today’s Heritage must be separated. This election race showed that they were not so much an opposition,” Grigoryan noted.

And in regard to the RPA forming a coalition with the PAP, “the likelihood of forming such coalition is very high.”  

“The RPA needs this [coalition] for domestic legitimacy, and uniting with this [political] force means increasing its legitimacy. The society’s expectations from the PAP are very high. And, naturally, this will raise the Parliament’s legitimacy. The PAP has the role of a contradictor, which makes this coalition all the more likely. The international community likewise will positively view this step,” Stepan Grigoryan noted.     

To note, Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission has issued the preliminary results of the May 6 parliamentary elections. Five political parties and one bloc will be represented in the 131-seat National Assembly (Parliament) of Armenia: Republican Party of Armenia – 44.05%, Prosperous Armenia Party – 30.20%, Armenian National Congress – 7.10%, Heritage Party – 5.79%, ARF Dashnaktsutyun Party – 5.73%, and Orinats Yerkir Party – 5.49%.