The Armenian parliament has failed to elect only candidate Nikol Pashinyan as the country’s prime minister today, which means that a snap parliamentary election will be called.
"No one voted for Pashinyan, no one voted against him, while 13 abstained from voting," TASS cited Parliament Speaker Ara Babloyan as saying.
Pashinyan resigned as Armenian prime minister on October 16. On October 24, the parliament failed to elect him to head the cabinet in the first round of election.
In accordance with the country’s Constitution, the parliament is dissolved after twice failing to elect a prime minister, and a snap election is called. Pashinyan has already said the election would take place on December 9.
The director of the Armenian branch of the CIS Institute, Alexander Markarov, speaking with Vestnik Kavkaza earlier, noted that "the party system that emerged during the last three electoral cycles ceased to exist, since the counterparties, which have became the de facto political majority, were a political minority until April of this year. The parties, of course, will fight for the parliament seats, some will receive 20-30% of the votes not given to Pashinyan’s party," he explained, stressing that about 70% of voters will vote for Pashinyan and his team.
"As a result, if earlier Pashinyan fought for the title of the main opposition force to other parties, now other parties will fight for the title of the main opposition force to Pashinyan. It is an interesting question who will it be, because Gagik Tsarukyan, the leader of the Prosperous Armenia party, signed a memorandum of cooperation with Pashinyan. ARF Dashnaktsutyun should understand how it will position itself in these elections. The republicans have very ghostly chances of overcoming the 5% barrier (or 7% if they form some block)," Alexander Markarov said.
“Today we have a strong leader and the absence of strong political parties as elements of the political system. If we are talking about democracy, then it presupposes the existence of a strong, workable and constructive opposition. For now, we see that the political field is monopolized - but monopolization does not lead to anything good," the director of the Armenian branch of the CIS Institute concluded.
