Tandilyan slams pension hike as pre-election ploy

PanARMENIAN.Net - Raising pensions is an urgent necessity, but doing so solely “to keep one’s own seat is an extremely immoral manifestation,” Mane Tandilyan, co-founder of the Country to Live party, wrote on her Facebook page.

She added that turning the vulnerable situation of pensioners into a pre-election tool is shameful.

“When pension increases are implemented just months before elections, despite the fact that as recently as January Nikol Pashinyan had stated that ‘even if we raise pensions by, for example, 20,000 drams, the problems will not be solved,’ this indicates that the authorities’ actions are aimed exclusively at preserving their positions amid a declining rating. This means that the opportunity existed, but they did not act, hoping to use it as a reward for themselves. And that is precisely why pensioners should punish this behavior by giving zero votes.

It is shameful to turn the vulnerable condition of pensioners into a pre-election toy.

Pensioners and the entire society must understand that short-term populist steps conceal risks that will lead to serious problems for our state and the entire population, and the price of that is a thousand times higher than 10,000 drams,” she wrote.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced that pensions will increase from April 1. He noted that more detailed calculations will be presented later, adding that relatively lower pensions will rise by 10,000 drams, while higher pensions will increase by a smaller amount.

Labor and Social Affairs Minister Arsen Torosyan stated that all pensions will increase by 10,000 drams due to the rise in the base pension.