Nikol Pashinyan resigned from the post of Prime Minister of Armenia to hold early parliamentary elections. Following the prime minister, the country’s government resigned.
“To implement constitutional provisions and dissolve parliament, I resign today,” Pashinyan said during his Facebook video message to the people on Sunday, April 25.
At the same time, the politician noted that until the elections, he remains acting prime minister and will do his job in full. In addition, in the elections, Pashinyan will become a candidate for prime minister from the ruling Civil Contract party.
“I could not resign today, but I decided to do it on Citizens Day. Thus, we return the power received from a citizen to him so that he can decide the future fate of power through free, fair and competitive elections, ”Pashinyan stressed.
He noted that early elections in Armenia are very important, as the country went through serious trials in 2020. At the same time, the ability of the people to cast their vote is a way to express their opinion about the events of the past, as well as to determine their future destiny.
The Armenian government also resigned in full in connection with the resignation of Pashinyan. Members of the government continue to carry out their duties until the formation of a new government in the country.
On February 25, the Armenian Armed Forces (AF) issued a statement demanding the resignation of Pashinyan. He, in turn, saw this as an attempted coup and called on his supporters to take to the streets with protests. Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Onik Gasparyan was dismissed despite the president’s refusal to sign the corresponding decree. The situation has led to new protests in Armenia. Both supporters and opponents of Pashinyan took to the streets.
On March 24, it became known that the parliament of the republic canceled the martial law, which was introduced in the country in September 2020 due to the hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh. This decision makes it possible to hold early elections to the country’s parliament.
Early parliamentary elections in the republic are scheduled for June 20.
Pashinyan announced his resignation in mid-April.
Pashinyan also announced the procedure for further bureaucratic procedures. He also noted that in order to preserve all the protocol events, he will nominate himself for the post of prime minister.