Robert Kocharyan

The 2003 Armenian Presidential election was held on 19 February and 5 March 2003. No candidate received a majority in the first round of the election with the incumbent President Kocharyan winning slightly under 50% of the vote. Therefore, a second round was held and Kocharyan defeated Stepan Demirchyan (son of Karen Demirchyan) with official results showed him winning just over 67% of the vote.

In both rounds, electoral observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe reported significant amounts of electoral fraud by Demirchyan's supporters and numerous supporters of Demirchyan were arrested before the second round took place.[23] Demirchyan described the election as having been rigged and called on his supporters to rally against the results.[24] Tens of thousands of Armenians protested in the days after the election against the results and called on President Kocharyan to step down.[23] However Kocharyan was sworn in for a second term in early April and the constitutional court upheld the election, while recommending that a referendum be held within a year to confirm the election result.[25][26] On April 14, 2004 Armenian poet Silva Kaputikyan wrote an open letter Kocharyan Must Go, where she protested Kocharyan's harsh methods towards the demonstrators on April 12–13, 2004. She also turned back Mesrop Mashtots Medal awarded by Kocharyan some years ago.[27]

A presidential election was held in Armenia on 19 February 2008. The incumbent President Kocharyan, who was ineligible for a third consecutive term,[28] backed the candidacy of Prime Minister of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan.[29]

Following the election result, protests organized by supporters of unsuccessful candidate Levon Ter-Petrosyan began in Yerevan's Freedom Square and accompanied by mass disorders. The opposition accused the government of rigging the election in Sargsyan's favor. On March 1, the demonstrators were dispersed by police and military forces. Ten people (eight protestors and two policemen) were killed during clashes between police and protestors, and President Kocharyan declared a 20-day state of emergency.[30] This was followed by mass arrests and purges of prominent members of the opposition, as well as a de facto ban on any further anti-government protests.[31][32]

Kocharyan with Russian President Vladimir Putin, March 2002

As President, Kocharyan continued to negotiate a peaceful resolution with Azerbaijani Presidents Heydar Aliyev and Ilham Aliyev on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh. Kocharyan was generally in favor of achieving a "package deal" settlement of the conflict, whereby all issues, including the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh would be resolved in one agreement, rather than a "phased" settlement whereby Armenian forces would withdraw from the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh in exchange for security guarantees while Karabakh's status would be left for future negotiations.[33] In October 1999, Kocharyan became the first President of Armenia to visit Azerbaijan, holding talks with Aliyev at the border of the two countries.[34] In his memoirs, Kocharyan later claimed that Aliyev stood ready in his discussions to recognize Karabakh as a part of Armenia.[35] Talks between Ilham Aliyev and Kocharyan were held in September 2004 in Astana, Kazakhstan, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) summit. Reportedly, one of the suggestions put forward was the withdrawal of Armenian forces from the Azeri territories adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh, and holding referendums (plebiscites) in Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan proper regarding the future status of the region. On 10–11 February 2006, Kocharyan and Aliyev met in Rambouillet, France to discuss the fundamental principles of a settlement to the conflict, including the withdrawal of troops, formation of international peacekeeping troops, and the status of Nagorno-Karabakh.[36]

During the weeks and days before the talks in France, OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen expressed cautious optimism that some form of an agreement was possible. French President Jacques Chirac met with both leaders separately and expressed hope that the talks would be fruitful. Contrary to the initial optimism, the Rambouillet talks did not produce any agreement, with key issues such as the status of Nagorno-Karabakh and whether Armenian troops would withdraw from Kalbajar still being contentious. The next session of the talks was held in March 2006 in Washington, D.C.[36] Russian President, Vladimir Putin applied pressure to both parties to settle the disputes.[37] Later in 2006 there was a meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents in Minsk on 28 November and ministerial meetings were held in Moscow. "These talks did not initiate any progress, but I hope that the time for a solution will come" said Peter Semneby, EU envoy for the South Caucasus.[38]

In September 2006, in his congratulatory message[39] on the occasion of 15th anniversary of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Kocharyan said "The Karabakhi people made their historic choice, defended their national interests in the war that was forced upon them. Today, they are building a free and independent state." The accompanying message said that the duty of the Republic of Armenia and all Armenians is to contribute to the strengthening and development of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as to the international recognition of the republic's independence.[40]

Protest against order of the Court of general jurisdiction of Yerevan to free Robert Kocharyan on bail from pre-trial detention. May 18, 2019, Yerevan.

On July 26, 2018, the Special Investigative Service (SIS) of Armenia charged Kocharian with “overthrowing constitutional order of Armenia” during the final weeks of his rule. The SIS asked a Yerevan court to remand him in pre-trial custody.[41] On July 27, 2018, he was arrested. On August 13, 2018, Kocharyan was freed from custody following a court ruling, but remained accused of the charges he was arrested for.[42] On December 7, 2018, Kocharyan was arrested again following another ruling by the Court of Appeals.[43] In 2019, all Kocharyan's assets and property, other than his pension, was were frozen by the court.[44] On May 18, 2019, Kocharyan was freed on bail from pre-trial detention.[9] On June 25, 2019, he was arrested for the third time.[10] He was again released a year later, on June 18, 2020, on bail.[11]

During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Kocharyan met with fellow ex-presidents of Armenia Levon Ter-Petroysan and Serzh Sargsyan as well as ex-presidents of Nagorno-Karabakh Arkadi Ghukasyan and Bako Sahakyan to discuss the situation.[45] In October 2020, Kocharyan and Ter-Petrosyan requested that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan give them permission to go to Moscow as special negotiators.[46] Pashinyan accepted their request to go to Moscow to meet with Russian officials, but not as official negotiators. The visit never occurred as Kocharyan tested positive for COVID-19.[46]

After the defeat of the Armenian side in the war and the signing of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement, Kocharyan joined other ex-presidents and opposition politicians in calling for Nikol Pashinyan's resignation. He declared his support for Vazgen Manukyan, who was nominated by a coalition of 17 opposition parties, including the Republican Party, to lead an interim national unity government.[47] In January 2021, Kocharyan declared his intention to participate in the next elections.[48]