Civil Contract Party Says Karapetyans’ Plan Is Doomed to Fail

YEREVAN — Members of the ruling Civil Contract party are convinced that the Karapetyans’ plan to amend Article 148 of the Constitution and elect billionaire businessman Samvel Karapetyan as prime minister will not succeed.

“Samvel Karapetyan cannot be a candidate for prime minister in Armenia. Philipp Kirkorov cannot be a candidate for prime minister in Armenia. Mr. Maduro cannot be a candidate for prime minister in Armenia. I think everything is clear,” said National Assembly Vice Speaker Ruben Rubinyan, a board member of Civil Contract. “With the same logic, they could nominate Hovhannes Aivazovsky as a candidate for prime minister, because he would be just as eligible as the respected Russian businessman you mentioned.”

Rubinyan insisted that the constitutional article concerning the prime minister cannot be amended before a prime minister is appointed by the president. In other words, according to the deputy speaker, a prime minister must first be appointed and only afterward can the law be amended—not the other way around.

“After the elections and the formation of a political majority, the president immediately appoints the prime minister nominated by that majority,” Rubinyan said, emphasizing: “Therefore, Samvel Karapetyan cannot be the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia.”

He added that under the National Assembly’s Rules of Procedure constitutional law, the agenda of the first session has already been approved and includes the election of the Speaker of Parliament, deputy speakers, and committee chairs. “Until these issues are discussed, no other draft can be considered in the National Assembly. But in order for these matters to be discussed, there must first be an appointed prime minister,” he said.

Rubinyan also referenced the resignation of former President Armen Sarkissian. “Why did Armen Sarkissian resign? Because it became known that he had effectively held dual citizenship, and therefore, had this been known from the beginning, he could not have been elected president,” Rubinyan stated.

Armen Sarkissian was elected president in 2018 and resigned in January 2022. However, he explained his resignation not on the grounds of dual citizenship or having been elected in violation of the law, but because, as he stated at the time, “the president does not have the necessary tools to influence the fundamental processes of domestic and foreign policy during these difficult times for the country and the nation.”