The 52-year-old tycoon has made no secret of his strong support for Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, who took office in September 2016 and has a reputation as a technocratic reformist.
The widespread outrage underscores the disconnect between hardened public perceptions of the conflict and diplomatic proposals that have long been the subject of negotiations in the effort to resolve it.
Following April’s elections, Armenia now has four ethnic minority MPs – one each from the country’s Yezidi, Assyrian, Kurdish, and Russian communities – in its 105-seat parliament.
Since its independence from the Soviet Union, the Armenian political party scene has featured constant floor-crossing, vague party platforms, and the emergence or name changes of various parties and alliances just in time for the next election cycle.
Armenia’s governing party consolidated its grip on power following parliamentary elections marred by widespread allegations of vote-buying and voter intimidation.
Vote-buying has long been a staple of politics in Armenia, where parties and politicians offer few inspiring choices and voters see little reason to support one over the other.