A senior representative of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s My Step alliance made clear on Monday that it will not seek a power-sharing agreement with any other political group after its landslide victory in the weekend parliamentary elections.
“We have won a majority in the National Assembly and don’t have a desire or see the need to form a coalition government with any other force,” Lena Nazarian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).
My Step will control just over two-thirds of the seats in the new parliament, more than enough to reappoint Pashinian as prime minister and further his legislative agenda.
Only two other parties, Prosperous Armenia (BHK) and Bright Armenia, will be represented in the parliament. They both avoided criticizing Pashinian during the election campaign.
Bright Armenia, which made up an alliance with Pashinian until recently, said that it will be in opposition to the prime minister. Some observers are skeptical on this score, however, saying that that the party’s leader, Edmon Marukian, is unlikely to seriously challenge the government.
The BHK’s current status is more ambiguous. Its leader, Gagik Tsarukian, shed no light on the party’s plans on Monday in a written statement to supporters. Tsarukian said only that the BHK, which came in a distant second in Sunday’s elections, “will continue to stand with the people.”
A senior BHK figure, Naira Zohrabian, said the party’s governing board will meet soon to decide whether or not to act like an opposition force.
The BHK received four ministerial posts in the current government immediately after Pashinian swept to power in May. The premier sacked those ministers in October, accusing Tsarukian of collaborating with the former ruling Republican Party (HHK).
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