Armenian Prime Minister Forces Snap Elections to be Held

Caretaker Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (left) pictured in 2018 with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Wikimedia Commons.

After months of political upheaval following the resignation of their prime minister, Armenian citizens will go to the polls to elect a new parliament in snap elections on December 9. Caretaker Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan failed to receive enough votes for re-election, a result he had actively worked to achieve in order to vote in a new parliament.

Pashinyan forced his predecessor out of office and took power in May 2018 after leading a series of protests against government corruption. He had previously worked as an editor of the leading opposition newspaper and has served time in jail for sowing political unrest. The previous prime minister, Serzh Sarksyan, allegedly fostered corruption in the political system and outraged voters by trying to retain his grip on power.

As he bid for power, Pashinyan wielded the people’s anger about corruption, high unemployment, and extensive poverty, all of which had flourished under the previous regime. One of his most powerful tools, both in taking power and forcing elections, has been the public’s indignation over the state of their country.

Though Pashinyan had the most powerful position in the country, President Armen Sarkissian’s Republican party still held onto a majority in parliament. Pashinyan resigned to force the dissolution of the parliament, hoping to replace officials from the previous regime, whom he has accused of being corrupt.

According to an article in the Armenian constitution, snap elections can be called if lawmakers fail twice to appoint a new prime minister within 14 days. Pashinyan convinced his opponents not to nominate any new candidates, and he led thousands of protestors to parliament to persuade his opponents to call the early elections. On November 1, officials failed for the second time to elect a new prime minister, and President Sarkissian signed a decree calling early elections.

Pashinyan will continue to act as prime minister while awaiting the December elections. Though they have fallen out of favor with the Armenian public and are expected to lose their majority, Republican party officials will continue to seek re-election to parliament and serve the government as the opposition, while pro-Pashinyan politicians are projected to become the new majority.

“Being an opposition is not a privilege, an administrative lever, or a high public position,” said former Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan, who has been identified as a possible candidate for the Republican party. “It is an honorable opportunity to repent for your mistakes with actions rather than words.”

Pashinyan has promised to host free, fair, and democratic elections, rather than elections fraught with rigging and corruption like before, as he works “to return the power to the people.”