Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
See Part 1 http://vestnikkavkaza.net/articles/politics/45461.html
Despite rumours about the appointment of Karen Karapetyan to the position of prime minister, many experts in Armenia doubt the possibility. However, there is a moment which makes the invulnerable Tigran Sarkisyan worry. In late August and early September representatives of the ruling RPA party began to discuss possible changes to the constitution. A commission has been formed, which in 10 months should present proposals on amendments to the constitution to the President. The speaker of the parliament, Ovik Abramyan, and other officials were talking about the possibility of launching a position of vice-premier.
Serge Sargsyan’s electoral program of 2008 and 2013 didn’t speak about amendments to the constitution. During the year only once did the question of the need to change the constitution was raised by a member of the Constitutional Court, Felix Tokhyan, who is thought to be a top-level professional in the sphere of constitutional law. Tokhyan pointed to the need for serious changes in the court system and the system of self-administration. However, Tokhyan wasn’t included on the commission on constitutional amendments. So further changes will unlikely touch on the court system or the system of self-administration. Perhaps it will concern a new distribution of power.
According to the chairman of the permanent parliamentary commission on state and legal affairs, the head of the executive body of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, David Arutyunyan, the RPA is discussing that not all the decisions made in the constitution adopted in 2005 are thought to be satisfactory, and it is time to launch new changes to the constitution. Arutyunyan thinks that the discussion will last several months. At the same time, he doesn’t exclude the ruling party considering shifting from a presidential to a parliamentary system of governance.
Arutyunyan also assumes that in case of a shift to a parliamentary republic, the current president of Armenia Serge Sargsyan will head the proportional list of the RPA, and if the RPA wins, Sargsyan will be elected Premier and will head Armenia in this status.
Why should this concern Tigran Sarkisyan? Formally, the position of vice-premier exists even today. It is taken by Armen Gevorkyan, who is involved in territorial management. But the point is not in the position, but who can take it. Today it is difficult to predict possible candidates, but there is a moment which should be analyzed. I mean the trial over the former prime minster Grant Bagratyan. A certain Mane Akopyan, who took part in development of the economic program “100 Steps” by the opposition coalition the Armenian National Congress 4 years ago (the whole development was conducted under active participation and management of Bagratyan), accuses the former premier of intellectual property rights violation. Akopyan demands Bagratyan pay more than a million drams for publishing a small article from the program on his page in Facebook.
Bagratyan called the suit absurd and accused Akopyan of being engaged to spy on the opposition, initiated by Tigran Sarkisyan. According to the former premier, there is a clear political order in the lawsuit, and the authors of it are Sarkisyan and his team.
The government hasn’t disapproved the statement by Bagratyan yet. It is difficult to understand all the details of the case, but it shouldn’t be excluded that Tigran Sarkisyan wanted to eliminate his possible rival, as there is a small possibility that Bagratyan could be appointed vice-premier or even prime minister. At the same time, in general Tigran Sarkisyan is unlikely to be replaced in the position of prime minister.
