Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
Yesterday the Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Sarkisyan surrendered office, and President accepted the resignation at a session of the board of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia. Right after the session Sarkisyan left the building of the head office of the RPA and didn’t answer a question whether his resignation was connected with a verdict on the pension reform by the Constitutional Court.
The other day the Constitutional Court (CC) announced its verdict on a suit of four opposition forces which demanded to find the law on funded pension anti-constitutional. The CC’s verdict is based on the legal rule which forbids any restriction of rights for citizens, including the property right. The document points out necessity to improve the law in the sphere of responsibility of state structures and liabilities of pension funds.
The complicated and voluminous document adopted by the CC demands attentive study, but the opposition has already expressed its attitude to the verdict. According to an MP from the National Assembly from the opposition Dashnaktsutyun Party, Artsvik Minasyan, the CC verdict covered all aspects outlined in the suit by the opposition.
The court’s decision was a surprise for the opposition – Dashnaktsutyun, the Armenian National Congress, Prosperous Armenia, and Heritage. They thought that the CC which is an adjunct of the authorities would make an unclear decision at best and wouldn’t deprive the government of such a great amount of money.
Considering the Armenian specificity, for example, power overconcentration in President’s hands, it is impossible to imagine that there is no political component behind the legal verdict. The CC verdict is a starting point in internal political processes in the country which will define further behavior of two rivals – the authorities and the opposition.
Funded pensions and dissatisfaction connected with them among the majority of the population are only a part of the internal political process aimed at holding radical reforms in the country, including a shift in power.
Regarding the CC verdict, two scenarios could be implemented for the authorities. The first determined the authorities’ behavior, according to the well-known scheme in parliament, i.e. the boycotting of sessions by the parliamentary majority or voting against any initiatives by the opposition. The second scenario required a concession to demands of the opposition on dismissal of the government headed by Tigran Sarkisyan. It is unlikely, but the leadership could realize that it was impossible to continue cheating on the society and make unpopular decisions.
As for the opposition, before the CC verdict they have many times stated that they intend to start a new stage of the struggle. “90% of the population wants a change of the government; this number is more important than the “button” majority,” the head of Dashnaktsutyun Armen Rustamyan believes.
“The authorities will yield only if people come to the streets. Our goal is to provide all-national mobilization on Freedom Square,” the head of the ANC Levon Zurabyan said.
The opposition plans to hold a three-day meeting on Freedom Square on April 28-30. President will conduct political consultations in the nearest future, after that a new prime minister will be elected.
