The Social Justice Party ( hy, Սոցիալական արդարություն կուսակցություն) is an

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

. It was founded in 1999 and is currently led by Arthur Baloyan.

History

The party participated in the

2003 Armenian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Armenia on 25 May 2003. There were 56 constituency seats and 75 elected on a national basis using proportional representation. They saw the Republican Party of Armenia emerge as the largest party, with 33 of t ...

, but failed to win any seats in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

, gaining just 0.54% of the popular vote. The party's leader, Arthur Baloyan, participated in the

2017 Armenian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Armenia on 2 April 2017. They were the first elections after a constitutional referendum in 2015 that approved reforms for the country to become a parliamentary republic. The result was a victory for the rul ...

as part of the ORO Alliance, but failed to win a seat in the National Assembly. The party boycotted the

2018 Armenian parliamentary election Snap parliamentary elections were held in Armenia on 9 December 2018, as none of the parties in the National Assembly were able to put forward and then elect a candidate for Prime Minister in the two-week period following the resignation of incum ...

, due to concerns that the election was not fair. However, the party stated that it would support non-partisan candidates and work closely with other political parties as an

extra-parliamentary An extra-parliamentary opposition is a political movement opposed to a ruling government or political party that chooses not to engage in elections. Many social movements could be categorized as an extra-parliamentary opposition. Europe The Ger ...

force. In June 2019, Arthur Baloyan signed a joint agreement with the other members of the

Pan-Armenian National Agreement The Pan-Armenian National Agreement, sometimes called the All-Armenian National Consensus ( hy, Համահայկական ազգային համաձայնագիր) is an Armenian political alliance. History The alliance was founded on 22 June 2019 ...

calling for the protection of the Constitution of Armenia. Following the

2021 Armenian political crisis The 2021 Armenian political crisis was an alleged military coup attempt by the Armed Forces of Armenia led by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Onik Gasparyan against the government of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pa ...

and the

2020–2021 Armenian protests The 2020−2021 Armenian protests (also known as the March of Dignity; hy, Արժանապատվության երթ, translit=Arzhanapatvut'yan yert') were a series of protests that began following the Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement on 10 ...

, the party condemned the Armenian military's interference in the countries political affairs. The party also signed a declaration of cooperation with the

National Democratic Pole The National Democratic Pole ( hy, Ազգային ժողովրդավարական բեւեռ, translit=Azgayin zhoghovrdavarakan beverr) also known as the National Democratic Alliance or the National Democratic Party, is an Armenian political alli ...

, an alliance of opposition political figures in Armenia. The declaration called on the Prime Minister of Armenia

Nikol Pashinyan Nikol Vovayi Pashinyan ( hy, Նիկոլ Վովայի Փաշինյան, ; born 1 June 1975) is an Armenian politician serving as the prime minister of Armenia since 8 May 2018. A journalist by profession, Pashinyan founded his own newspaper in ...

to resign, for the territorial integrity of Armenia and Artsakh to be upheld, and to prepare for free and fair elections.

Ideology

The party supports a strong democratic Armenia and advocates for respecting the rule of law, free speech, equality, fighting against discrimination, respecting

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

, and ensuring the environmental protection of the country. The party's manifesto states, "The state must ensure that all citizens live by the rule of law, without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or any other grounds." The party also supports equal pay work and gender equality, increasing minimum wage, and improving health care. In regards to foreign policy, the party advocates for peace and cooperation in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

region.

Activities

In 2014, the Justice Party held a joint rally with the Rule of Law party in Yerevan. Both party's were protesting against the rise of electricity prices in Armenia. In December 2020, Arthur Baloyan met with the President of Armenia, Armen Sarksyan to discuss the political situation in the country. On 15 April 2021, the party signed a joint declaration with eight other political parties calling on the President of Armenia to ensure democracy and the Constitution of Armenia is upheld in the country during the

References

External links

Social Justice Party
on Facebook {{Armenian political parties Political parties established in 1999 Political parties in Armenia Liberal parties in Armenia

History

Ideology

Activities

See also

References

External links