Armenia prime minister weighs in on opposition’s demands

Armenia prime minister weighs in on opposition’s demands

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian prime minister Karen Karapetyan on Wednesday, April 25 weighed in on the demands put forward by an opposition leader concerning the future of the campaign against the ruling Republican Party (RPA) that started in Armenia almost two weeks ago.

Opposition leader from Yelk bloc, founder and head of Civil Contract party Nikol Pashinyan leads the campaign #RejectSerzh against former president Serzh Sargsyan’s appointment as prime minister, and against his premiership after he was already appointed to the post.

Sargsyan on Monday resigned from the prime minister’s post, and Pashinyan is now seeking the appointment as prime minister by the National Assembly of what he calls “the people’s candidate,” the formation of a temporary government and snap parliamentary elections.

Pashinyan and Karapetyan were scheduled to meet on early Wednesday but the meeting was canceled. Pashinyan urged demonstrators to resume the rally, with the protesters paralyzing traffic on several major avenues and streets in Yerevan and gathering at the Republic Square.

“Some people at the Republic Square are dissatisfied with the current situation, but how can we decide who their candidate is?” Karapetyan told a press conference on Wednesday.

“What does a 'people’s candidate' mean? I don’t know of any country where the people’s candidate is elected that way. That is why we propose holding snap elections, and if Nikol is the people’s candidate, he will get the post.”

When asked directly whether he rules out Pashinyan becoming the acting prime minister, Karapetyan said: “No candidate is elected like that.”

He added, however, that he doesn’t rule out that Pashinyan may become the prime minister after the snap elections, but the opposition’s current proposal does not comply with the law.

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