Snap parliamentary elections in Armenia should be completed by June 1, Bight Armenia leader says
YEREVAN, March 15. / ARKA /. Snap parliamentary elections in Armenia should be completed by June 1, and therefore, the process of dissolution of the parliament should begin within the next 10 days, Edmon Marukyan, the leader of Bight Armenia, one of the two opposition parties, represented in parliament, told reporters today.
Marukyan said earlier that his faction was ready not to field any candidate for the post of prime minister if the incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan resigned to clear the way for snap elections.
"After June 1, we cannot guarantee that there would be no nominations for the post of prime minister. Our consensus can take place if the elections are held before June 1," he said. When asked if an agreement was reached at this stage on the holding of early parliamentary elections, Marukyan replied that there was such a possibility.
"There is a possibility of consensus, but I cannot say that there is a consensus, since I would not want the approaches of extra-parliamentary opposition forces not to be discussed. There may be a possibility of consensus between the parliamentary forces, but it must also be sought outside (parliament)," he said.
Marukyan also called for lifting the martial law that was declared after the offensive of Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh.
"If within 7-8 days we come to an agreement on all issues, it is clear that the martial law must be lifted so that we can go to the polls," he said.
President Armen Sarkissian invited Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the leaders of all parliamentary factions and the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement (an alliance of about a dozen political parties and groups, including the Prosperous Armenia, demanding Prime Minister Pashinian’s resignation) to a meeting at the presidential residence on March 13 to discuss ways out of the current crisis.
However, only the ruling My Step and Bright Armenia accepted the invitation, while Prosperous Armenia, another parliament-represented opposition party and the Homeland Salvation Movement proposed their own agenda and conditions.
Later, on Saturday, Sarkissian held separate meetings with Prime Minister Pashinyan, head of the My Step faction Lilit Makunts and Marukyan, to discuss options for resolving internal political tensions in Armenia.
Nikol Pashinyan has been facing opposition demands to resign since he signed a peace deal in November with Azerbaijani and Russian leaders to end the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh that claimed thousands of young lives, and saw Azerbaijan reclaim control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas that had been held by Armenian forces for more than a quarter of a century.
The standoff has intensified after Pashinyan fired a deputy chief of the army's general staff Tiran Khachatryan who reportedly laughed off his claim that only 10% of Russia-supplied Iskander missiles that Armenia used in the conflict exploded.
After Khachatryan's sacking the chief of the army staff Onik Gasparyan and more than 40 other high-ranking army officers signed under a statement demanding Pashinyan's resignation. Pashinyan reiterated by issuing an order to sack Gasparyan and called the demand as attempted coup.
However, Armenia's largely ceremonial president, Armen Sarkissian refused to sign it and sent back to Pashinyan's office. "Political struggle must not go beyond the bounds of the law, it should not lead to shocks and instability," he said in a statement.
Pashinyan quickly resubmitted the demand warning that the president could be impeached if he fails to endorse the move.-0-
