The Republican Party’s executive board unanimously backs the plan for nominating the third president for the prime minister of Armenia, according to the ruling party’s spokesperson.
Speaking to reporters after the board’s meeting late on Wednesday, Eduard Sharmazanov said they intend to submit the proposal to their council on Saturday to request an official decision. But he said they “aren’t yet sure” whether Serzh Sargsyan will be the Republican’s preferred choice.
“Under the Constitution, the governing political force is to nominate its candidate for the prime minister in the parliamentary system of Armenia. We are also aware that a meeting was held between the chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia [Serzh Sargsyan] and First Deputy Chairman [acting Prime Minister] Karen Karapetyan.
The RPA executive board finally initiated its discussions today [to consider] the future prime minister’s candidacy,” Sharmazanov added.
Acting Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan earlier announced a decision to back Serzh Sargsyan’s candidacy for cabinet leader’s post, citing major challenges and concerns linked to the country’s future sustainable development.
Karapetyan met with the outgoing president in his office on Saturday to brief him on his cabinet’s accomplishments (over the past period of his tenure since September 2016) and the reforms stemming from the constitutional transition to a parliamentary republic (based on the 2015 constitutional reforms).
On Monday, he met with Armen Sarkissian, already the fourth president of Armenia, to tender the executive’s resignation. The new cabinet is to be formed within 15 days after the new prime minister’s appointment (Article 150 of the Constitution).
Sharmazanov said the Thursday meeting also summed up the past 10 years of Serzh Sargsyan’s tenure.
“Those 10 years were complicated and full of challenges but at the same time, they marked a period of state building and security strengthening. So Mr President’s contribution is really invaluable to the strengthening of Armenia,” he said, admitting also the existing shortcomings and ommissions.
Sharmazanov said he sees essential differences from 2018, especially in the field of democracy-building, security strengthening and protection of human rights. As an important achievement, he highlighted the firmer approach to the exercise of the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) people’s right to self-determination.
“We thanked all the cabinet members, especially Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, for the outcomes of the past 1.5 years,” he added