On 11 December, the International Republican Institute (IRI) published their public opinion polls for Armenia conducted between  20 September 20 and 13 October. The polls showed that the government of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan still retains strong support in the country.

62% of the questioned agreed that the country is going in the right direction compared to 19% who perceived the country going in the wrong direction. Amongst the biggest successes of the Pashinyan government were decreased corruption (30%), improved psychological state of the people (19%), and bringing  democracy to the country (13%) were named. The biggest failures were bad management (27%), unfulfilled promises (14%) and political instability (13%). Respondents said that the the top prorities for the Armenian government in the coming six months should be the creation of jobs (38%), solving socio-economic problems (29%) and increasing wages (19%). Unemployment\Jobs (31%), the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (25%), socio-economic problems (30%), and national security\borders were named as the key contemporary problems Armenia is facing. 44% of respondents stated that the country’s economic situation has improved somewhat, with only 6% saying that it has improved a lot, 36% saying that it stayed the same, 11% that it worsened slightly, and 2% that it worsened a lot. 

On a domestic level, the Army (91%), the President's office (82%) and the Prime Minister's office (76%) were named as the most trustworthy institutions in the country, while the courts (57%), the Prosecutor's office (55%) and the Constitutional Court (51%) were listed as the most untrustworthy offices. 55% of respodnents named the ruling My Step political bloc as their first political choice, 19% named Prosperous Armenia, 6% Bright Armenia, 4% the Republican Party (HHK) and 3% the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). 59% of the questioned said that they would never vote for the HHK, followed by Dashnaktsuyun (17%) and the My Step bloc (11%).

One of the main focus areas of the polls was to see how Armenian citizens view the justice system and the fight against corruption. 77% of the questioned (in various degrees) said that it was important for Armenia to establish a special transitional justice system in the country which would investigate transgressions committed prior to the 2018 change of power. The Armenian government (44%), the National Assembly (22%) and the Supreme Judicial Council (19%) were named as the main institutions to overlook the implementation of transitional justice in the country. In the field of corruption, the medical services in the country (83% in various degrees), the courts (72%), the tax service (69%) and the higher education institutions (72%) were named as the most corrupt institutions in the country.  The disclosures of the National Security Service (26%), the stopping of bribery in the higher education system (16%) and the detention of oligarch leaders (14%) were named as the most noteworthy anticorruption reforms.

In the field of Armenia’s foreign relations, Russia was considered as the main political (88%) and economic (72%) partner for the country, followed by the EU (41%), US (39%) and Georgia (37%) in political terms. In economic relations, Georgia (60%), China (51%) and Iran (51%) were considered the main partners. Azerbaijan (93% political, 71% economic) and Turkey (81%, 71%) were perceived as the biggest threats to Armenia. 89% of the questioned answered that it is very important for Armenia’s future to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, with 49% (in various degrees) believing that the conflict could only be resolved by political means. 

The International Republican Institute (IRI) is a US-based non-profit, nonpartisan organization committed to advancing freedom and democracy worldwide by helping political parties to become more issue-based and responsive, assisting citizens to participate in government planning, and working to increase the role of marginalized groups in the political process – including women and youth.