Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the government’s extraordinary meeting that he will make a statement this evening on the final stage of the velvet revolution.
He stressed that today is an important day, because Armenia will enter a new historical period, the results of which will complete the velvet revolution. "But I will speak about this today evening," ARKA cited the PM as saying.
The Prime Minister is expected to resign today, since he said recently in an interview with France24 that he intended to resign on October 15 for dismissing the parliament and conducting early parliamentary elections on December 10.
The director of the Armenian branch of the CIS Institute, Alexander Markarov, speaking with Vestnik Kavkaza, 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.
