Armenia’s NA elected Pashinyan country’s PM for him to solve issues and not to organize snap elections – Eduard Sharmazanov

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has many times spoken about snap parliamentary elections and is ready to reform Constitution for keeping his office, vice speaker of the National Assembly Eduard Sharmazanov told Aysor.am, expressing his concern over it.

“Nikol Pashinyan has been elected country’s Prime Minister by the National Assembly, the parliamentary majority approved his government’s program. If Nikol Pashinyan wants snap elections the game is not in the Pashinyan-Republican field but in the field of Nikol Pashinyan and his allies. The Republicans are not majority in the parliament anymore, the majority belongs to the forces backing Pashinyan and those who left the Republican party,” he said.

Sharmazanov stressed that the Constitution gives mechanism for snap elections – the premier resigns, the NA does not elect new prime minister and snap elections are being appointed. “Let him resign, if he wants snap elections. If he is not sure that his allies Yelk, Tsarukyan, ARF-D factions and those republicans who left the party will elect him, it is not Republican party’s guilt,” the vice speaker said.

He stressed that the republicans’ opinion is very clear the 2017 elections were legal, the current parliament is legal. Sharmazanov said they will not allow making circus from the NA and dissolve it whenever they want.

The vice speaker stressed that they are political opposition and have right to insist on their opinion just like Pashinyan on his.

“My opinion is that one cannot dissolve parliament just because he does not like the NA’s staff or worries that the forces that backed him will not vote for him anymore. Let him work in a way not to lose allies but gain new ones,” Sharmazanov said.

The vice speaker stressed that on May 8 they elected Pashinyan country’s PM for him not to organize snap elections or resign but to solve the numerous issues he was talking about, and the solution of which people expect from him.

“It is time to work, Mr Pashinyan, you better work and not think of organizing snap elections or dissolving the parliament. Work good enough to get more allies. If you work badly naturally the number of critics will grow,” Sharmazanov concluded.