Political allies of Nikol Pashinian did not expect the Armenian parliament to reelect him as prime minister after nominating him on Tuesday for the country’s top government post in an effort to force snap general elections.
The Yelk alliance made the nomination a week after Pashinian resigned to ensure that the elections vital for his political future are held in December. The Yelk move is a mere formality designed to overcome the ambiguity of a key constitutional provision.
The Armenian constitution stipulates that fresh elections can be called only if the prime minister resigns and the National Assembly fails to elect his or her successor within two weeks. Some legal experts believe that it also requires lawmakers to vote on at least one candidate for prime minister during the two-week period. Others see no such requirement, however.
A Yelk leader, Lena Nazarian, cited “differing interpretations” of the constitution when she announced the nomination. She said Yelk is anxious to make sure that the legality of the parliament’s widely anticipated dissolution is not questioned by anyone.
“Obviously, the nomination is just a formality,” Nazarian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service. “Our goal is to fully comply with the constitutional procedure so that no problems arise later on.”
The parliament will debate and vote on of Pashinian’s candidacy on Wednesday. Representatives of Yelk and two other parliamentary forces, Prosperous Armenia (BHK) and Dashnaktsutyun, made clear that their deputies will not vote for him.
The former ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), which has the largest parliamentary faction, made no official statements to that effect. Still, one of its senior members, parliament speaker Ara Babloyan, hinted strongly that the HHK will not try to have Pashinian reappointed as prime minister and thus prevent the parliament’s dissolution.
“I think all issues will be sorted out in a way that will not cause any shocks,” Babloyan told reporters.
Nazarian and another Yelk lawmaker, Alen Simonian, also seemed confident that the party still headed by former President Serzh Sarkisian will not foil their plans for the early polls which Pashinian’s political team would almost certainly win.
The HHK officially holds 50 seats in the 105-member National Assembly. To become prime minister a candidates needs to be backed by at least 56 parliamentarians.
Pashinian was the sole candidate for the top executive post nominated before the expiry of a legal deadline on Tuesday evening.
Lawmakers’ failure to elect a prime minister on Wednesday would lead to a second and final parliament vote. The parliament will be automatically dissolved if it again does not pick a premier a week later.
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