24 October 2018, 21:29
Parliament doesn't elect Nikol Pashinyan as Premier
Not a single MP has voted today for the appointment of Nikol Pashinyan as Prime Minister of Armenia. The next vote is scheduled for October 31.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that today Pashinyan's supporters gathered near the building of the National Assembly of Armenia (Parliament) demanding the dissolution thereof. They stated that their goal was to prevent the election of Prime Minister.
On October 16, the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced his resignation. According to Pashinyan, the aim of his resignation was to bring the "velvet revolution" to the end and transfer power to the people. The Premier presented a roadmap, according to which the president immediately accepted his resignation, then the parliament failed to elect a new Prime Minister within 14 days, is dissolved for holding early elections.
None of the MPs has voted for Nikol Pashinyan's candidacy today. The factions of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) and the ARF "Dashnaktsutyun" announced that they would not participate in the voting. The "Yelk" faction, in its turn, has stated that it would abstain from voting. 11 other MPs have also abstained from voting. The MP Samvel Aleksanyan spoke out against Pashinyan's candidacy, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports, citing the broadcast of the session on the website of the Armenian Parliament.
The next vote for the Premier is scheduled for October 31.
According to Part 3, Article 149, of the Constitution of Armenia, if the Prime Minister is not elected at the first round of voting, then seven days later a new voting is scheduled, for which candidates are nominated by at least one third of the total number of the MPs. If the Premier is not elected again, then, the Parliament is dissolved. In accordance with Part 2, Article 92 of the Constitution, extraordinary parliamentary elections are held no earlier than 30 and no later than 45 days after the dissolution of the Parliament.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 24, 2018 at 04:35 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Tigran Petrosyan Source: CK correspondent
