With the parliamentary elections in Armenia scheduled for June 7 approaching, opposition forces are deciding whether to participate. Two parties – Strong Armenia and Wings of Unity – have officially submitted their applications to the Central Election Commission.

The Wings of Unity Party, led by former Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan, has nominated a list of 80 candidates. Its representative, Liparit Drmeyan, noted that cooperation with the ruling Civil Contract Party has been ruled out, but the question of cooperation with other opposition forces remains open.

The Strong Armenia bloc has also submitted its application package. The party's electoral list is headed by Narek Karapetyan, nephew of Russian businessman Samvel Karapetyan.

One of the key opposition forces, the Republican Party, has decided to boycott the elections. Former President Serzh Sargsyan, the party's leader, explained this decision by his desire to avoid being perceived as supporting the current government.

"If my participation and the participation of the Republican Party contributes even one percent to the reproduction of the current government, we will retreat," Sargsyan stated, emphasizing that he was thus allowing other opposition forces to freely fight for a change of government.

Earlier, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expressed the opinion that the Strong Armenia party and the Armenia bloc would not be able to pass the electoral threshold.

In total, the Central Election Commission of Armenia accepted documents from more than 20 political parties and alliances expressing their desire to participate in the elections.