Prime Minister Karen Karapetian on Thursday urged members of his cabinet to continue working as usual despite having to resign immediately after the new president of Armenia took office on Monday.

Armen Sarkissian will replace incumbent President Serge Sarkissian (no relation) but will largely enjoy ceremonial powers due to the country’s transition to a parliamentary system of government. The Armenian constitution requires Karen Karapetian and all ministers to withdraw on the same day. But they will continue to perform their duties until the formation of a new cabinet.

The National Assembly controlled by the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) is expected to elect a new prime minister on April 17. The latter will have five days to appoint the members of his cabinet who will be formally appointed by the new president in the next two or three weeks.

“On the basis of the constitutional requirement, we will submit the resignation of the government,” Karen Karapetian said at a weekly cabinet meeting in Yerevan. “By using this opportunity, I want to thank you all for the joint work.”

“Do not feel happy,” he added with a smile. “We have to keep working with the same tempo. Do not let go of the tempo. “

Serge Sarkissian should replace Karen Karapetian as Prime Minister and remain in power. Karen Karapetian, on the other hand, is expected to become First Deputy Prime Minister. Observers expect few departmental changes.

The next Armenian Prime Minister will be based in a building in Yerevan that has housed President Serge Sarkissian and his staff for the last decade. Justice Minister Davit Harutiunian said on Thursday that he “will also perform some of his duties” in another office currently occupied by Karen Karapetian and which will serve as a meeting place for the cabinet. These duties are “directly related to the work of the government”, he said without further details.

“The powers of the prime minister have been expanded to the point that he will fulfill a considerable part of the duties of the current president,” Harutiunian told reporters. “In this sense, the building of the presidential administration is adapted to properly exercise a number of powers.”

Under a controversial bill passed by parliament last month, journalists will no longer be able to watch the cabinet meetings in Yerevan live from an adjacent press room. The prime minister can only “do part of the meeting” in front of the press.

Armenia’s major media associations have criticized the change, saying it would make the government less transparent.

Davit Harutiunian, who is the lead author of the bill, again rejected this criticism. He added that the government would continue to publish the agendas of its weekly meetings. He added that journalists would be informed of major decisions made by the executive.

Davit Harutiunian also argued that in virtually every country in the world, cabinet meetings are held in camera.