As it was expected, on October 16th, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian submitted his resignation. In the next two weeks, political uncertainty in Armenia will dominate the news and capture the attention of everyone, until the dissolution of the current Parliament is achieved, through complex processes, as envisaged by the law.
The first step will take place seven days after the prime minister’s resignation, when the National Assembly must convene and not elect someone to replace him. Then, after waiting another week, a second session should be held and the Parliament must once again fail to elect a new prime minister. At that point the Parliament will be considered dissolved and new elections will be called.
Few weeks ago, when Nigol Pashinian first announced his intention to resign, there was major concern within the political circles and among the general public. The fear was that this move will give an opening for the previous regime to regain power by nominating its own candidate, which will undoubtedly be met with a harsh response by the population, but at the same time will put the country into new turmoil.
However, in recent days, these concerns have largely disappeared, thanks to clear and decisive steps taken by Pashinyan. These moves helped to neutralize any possibility that someone will be elected to replace him. Other forces represented in the parliament have publicly announced that they have no intentions of nominating anyone to the prime minister’s post. Everyone seems to have come to terms with the idea of holding extraordinary elections in December.
If everything goes as planned, Armenia will enter a pre-election phase, and there is hope that, after long pause, a free, fair and transparent parliamentary elections will be held in Armenia, and the citizens of the country will have the opportunity to elect their preferred candidate, without any pressure from the government, the interference of local gangs, and most importantly, with no bribery.
The Prime Minister’s resignation will be the first step towards the culmination of the velvet revolution and opening of a new page in the history of Armenia.
“MASSIS”
