President Serzh Sarkisian will become Armenia’s prime minister just days after his decade-long presidency ends on April 9, Diaspora Minister Hranush Hakobian said on Wednesday.
“I think that given the existing situation the president of the republic will be nominated by the Republican Party (HHK) for prime minister and get elected [by parliament,]” she told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).
Sarkisian hinted at his intention to become prime minister and thus extend his rule in comments to an Armenian media outlet made last week. In that context, he downplayed his assurances in 2014 that he will “not aspire” to the top executive post under a parliamentary system of government.
Echoing statements by other senior members of the ruling HHK, Hakobian dismissed opposition claims that the outgoing president is about to break his pledge. “Life is not a dogma whereby if we say something today it must necessarily occur,” she said. “Life changes and evolves.”
Some Armenian opposition groups have pledged to try to scuttle Sarkisian’s perceived plans with street demonstrations that will be staged early next month.
Eduard Sharmazanov, the chief HHK spokesman, insisted on Wednesday that the ruling party is undaunted by those protests. “Under the constitution, it is the parliament deputies who will decide who will be our prime minister for the next four years,” he said. “What are [the opposition forces] going to do? To scare us?”
“The people voted [in the April 2017 parliamentary elections] to determine who should be in government and who should in opposition,” added Sharmazanov. “The people voted to give us the right to form the executive branch.”