Armenia’s political crisis should be resolved as soon as possible. The government has set a date for a new election, on May 1st, country will make its choice, ArmenPress reported.
Armenia’s parliament officially set May 1 as the date to elect a prime minister. The stepping down of primr minister Serzh Sarkisian plunged the country into political crisis. To defuse rapidly escalating tensions with protesters’ leader Nikol Pashinyan, several top Armenian officials turned to Russia for help as protesters in the capital Yerevan took to the streets for a fresh day of rallies.
“I announce that the question of choosing a prime minister will be debated on May 1 … at a special session of the National Assembly,”
On Thursday, the Parliament’s speaker Ara Babloyan said.
New PM election as “a new page” in Armenia’s history
The former PM Serzh Sarkisian had served for a decade as president before holding the position of prime minister. The protesters had accused 63-year-old ex-pm of wanting to extend his grip on power under a new parliamentary system. The opposition’s pressure made top Armenian officials to secure support from the Kremlin. The acting Vice Premier Armen Gevorkyan and the foreign minister Edward Nalbandyan were in Moscow for talks on Thursday.
The protest movement headed by opposition lawmaker Pashinyan, 42, wants the Republican Party to hand power after Sarkisian quit.
President Armen Sarkisian said Thursday his country turned “a new page” in its history, saying that it is already New Armenia
“All political forces, especially the representatives of the National Assembly, should be coordinated to establish this new path, guided by the Constitution of our country,”
Armenian president said.
