YEREVAN. – If the authorities continue in the same spirit, Armenia will face another snap election. Second President Robert Kocharyan, the leader of the "Armenia" bloc that has won National Assembly seats as a result of the snap parliamentary elections on June 20,  told this to a press conference on Tuesday.

He thanked all the voters—about 270 thousand people—who trusted in and voted for this bloc. "Many [election campaign] meetings have taken place. I am proud that such people have voted for us. I am impressed with the meetings," Kocharyan added.

At the same time, he admitted that the election results were unexpected. "We have to try to find the explanation. We assume that there were widespread [voting] irregularities. It is obvious that administrative resources were used, and that is why we have applied to the Constitutional Court to appeal the [election] results," Kocharyan said.

"I am confident that the mandate which these authorities have received is not a mandate of trust. (…). The ‘return of the former authorities’ factor worked; we could not break that factor. The authorities do not well understand what happened and think it is a new mandate," Kocharyan said.

He noted that even his supporters are disappointed with the election results. "Those who have not entered the parliament lose the parliamentary elections. One interesting fact: what percentage [of votes] the parties, those playing against us has garnered is the best indicator of what is happening in that field."

"The other issue under discussion is whether to take the [parliamentary] mandate or not. We have not yet made a final decision in the bloc. We discussed my personal opinion with the team yesterday. (…). We have received new serious opportunities to continue the struggle. What are we planning on doing? Continue the struggle. The parliamentary struggle can intensify, but not replace the street struggle. We have a lot of experience in street struggle, too. This combination only strengthens our capabilities.

These elections significantly changed the political landscape. Our entry into the political struggle was something like a tsunami in the political field. We will keep the pace, we will keep the dynamics, we are convinced that we have opportunities, also in terms of human potential and intellectual opportunities.

After yesterday's rally of the authorities, I had the impression that they will work in the same spirit as for [the past] three years. Nothing will change. They have perceived the votes [they received] as [votes of] confidence in themselves. They think that the people agree and want them to continue as they were doing. [But] my impression is that something else has happened. If the vendettas and internal tension continue, I have no doubt that Armenia will face yet another snap election," Robert Kocharyan said.