Pashinyan replaces chief of government staff

YEREVAN, July 1. /ARKA/. Armenia's acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has dismissed today Arsen Torosyan as chief of government staff replacing him with Araik Harutyunyan, who served as chief advisor to prime minister.

According to mass media reports, Arsen Torosyan, who had served earlier as health minister, will be appointed as Deputy Prime Minister in the new government.

Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party that won 53.91% of the votes in the June 20 snap parliamentary elections will control 71 seats in the new National Assembly.

The Hayastan (Armenia) alliance, headed by a former president Robert Kocharyan (21.09% of votes) will control 29 seats and another alliance called Pativ Unem (I Have the Honor) (5.2%), led by Artur Vanetsyan, former chief of the National Security Service, will have 7 seats.

Pashinyan announced snap election followed months of protests against his government after he signed a statement together with the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020 to end six-week war with Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, as a result of which Azerbaijan reclaimed control over large part of Nagorno-Karabakh and all seven regions surrounding it, which had been controlled by Armenian forces for more than a quarter-century.

Pashinyan stepped down in late April as prime minister, as required by law to hold the election, but remained the country’s leader, and is expected to become prime minister again when the new parliament convenes. -0-