Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to VK
The election processes in Armenia are not finished yet. On May 18th the opposition Armenian National Congress filed a case to the Constitutional Court and demanded to admit the results of the elections on May 6th according to the proportional election system invalid. Action proceedings are dated on May 25th.
According to the law, appointment of the prime minister and composition of new government should take place in early June. President appoints the prime minister during consultations with parliamentary fractions in 10 days after the first session of the new-elected parliament that is dated on May 31st. There are 2-3 weeks ahead of the government composition, but there is no clearness in forming of the ruling coalition, i.e. in the government composition too. Closed consultations between political forces cause spread of rumors, which sometimes contradict each other.
Some sources say that Tigran Sarkisyan remains the main candidate for the position of the government’s head is Tigran Sarkisyan. He is acceptable for international financial institutes. The other candidate is relatively pro-Russian figure, the former Yerevan mayor, Karen Karapetyan. According to some data, Tigran Sarkisyan satisfies the mentioned institutes, but his low rating within the country concerns President Serge Sargsyan.
They say that within the Republican Party of Armenia the main competition is between the ex-speaker Ovik Abramyan and the tandem of the prime minister Tigran Sarkisyan and the speaker Samvel Nikoyan. The RPA session held on May 17th didn’t answer the question on who will work in the parliament and who will work in executive structures. According to President Sargsyan, the final decision on establishing the ruling coalition hadn’t been made yet too.
The press secretary of RPA Sharmazanov noted: “Talks on the coalition have a theoretical nature.” The chairman of the Political Scientists Union of Armenia, Amayak Ovannisyan, who takes the ninth place in the proportional list of Prosperous Armenia, said that the issue of forming the coalition with RPA hadn’t been discussed by Prosperous Armenia: “The consideration might take place, if we had a certain proposal by RPA. The coalition could be established, only if RPA admits that the announced results of the elections do not reflect people’s attitude.”
The chairman of the political council of Prosperous Armenia, the deputy Naira Zograbyan, a coalition shouldn’t be the aim, and Prosperous Armenia doesn’t strive for gaining few more ministry positions. Therefore, both sides have no clear answer to the question of forming the coalition. Considering the Constitution and political principles, RPA, which has the majority in the parliament, doesn’t need the coalition with Prosperous Armenia. 69 mandates out of 131 are enough for composing the government and be responsible for political events in the country. Moreover, RPA could propose the union to the party Orinats Erkir, as it wouldn’t demand a big power slice unlike Prosperous Armenia. Nevertheless, the post-election processes show that political consultations between these two people progress slowly.
The reason is the presidential elections in February 2013. Probably Serge Sargsyan intends to guarantee a wide political support for himself. Thus, support of all parties, which used to be involved into the ruling coalition, will mean support of 80%. If Prosperous Armenia doesn’t join the coalition, it can propose its own candidate in February elections. As Prosperous Armenia gained 30% in the parliamentary elections, it might be a problem for Sargsyan.
