Prime-Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan Resigns

The prime-minister of Armeina, Nikol Pashinyan, has resigned from his post. He made the announcement late on the evening of October 16, 2018. Pashinyan took the post on May 8of this year in the wake of the non-violent Velvet Revolution.

Pashinyan’s resignation was the only way to dissolve parliament and initiate snap elections, according to the new constitution of the country, which came into force this April, transforming the country from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary system.

Soon after Pashinyan’s resignation, President Armen Sarkissian, who has more of a ceremonial and protocol role in the country, immediately signed the resignation of the Prime Minister.

Pashinyan will continue performing the duties of the head of the state until the election of a new prime-minister or the snap parliamentary elections.

Pashinyan’s resignation was instigated by the fact that the parliament, which does not represent the real political force ratio and has no public support, is still under the control of the former ruling Republican party, which has a majority in the parliament. Pashinyan, who has wide national support in the country, has only 9% of seats in the parliament, which creates an illogical situation, as the parliament, ruled by the former party in the power, increasingly creates problems for the government, led by Pashinyan.

During his resignation address to the nation, Pashinyan noted that the snap parliamentary elections are very important to complete the Velvet Revolution. He also said that he is aware of public fears that his resignation may be used by supporters of the former regime to nominate and elect another prime-minister but reassured his supporters that the chance of that happening is minimal. His political force, however, remains ready for any scenario in which supporters of the former regime may endanger national security and stability. During the Velvet Revolution, the large public movement led by Pashinyan forced the former president Serzh Sarkissian to resign within seven days of his controversial political move from president directly to prime minister when his presidential term ended - following the seat of power according to the new constitution.

The move of the Republican party and its allies on October 2, when they attempted to adopt a law to create more obstacles for calling snap elections, only accelerated the steps of Pashinyan who called for a national rally minutes before the parliamentary vote and urged his supporters to surround the building of the parliament.

The sudden call for a rally by the prime-minister and the huge national demonstration that followed, as well as the pressure of public opinion on the Republican party and its allies, led a dozen members of the Republican party to join Pashinyan. Other allies such as the Tsarukian Alliance, led by billionaire Gagik Tsarukyan, and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation of Dashnakcutyun announced that they will support the prime-minister’s agenda on calling snap parliamentary elections. The Republican party itself announced that in case the prime minister resigned, they would not nominate their own candidate to the post.

According to the new Armenian constitution and legislation, Pashinyan may nominate himself as candidate for prime-minister, which he hinted he will be doing. In the next 16 days, the parliament has two attempts to appoint a new prime minister. If they fail, parliament will be dissolved, and snap parliamentary elections will be held nationwide.

According to Pashinyan, snap parliamentary elections should be called on 9-10 December this year.

By Karen Tovmasyan

Photo: Office of the Prime Minister of Armenia