PM candidate Nikol Pashinyan says met Iranian envoy, UN Resident Coordinator

YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. Opposition MP Nikol Pashinyan, candidate for Prime Minister in the upcoming second round of vote on May 8, says he had separate meetings on May 4 with Ali Naser Sobhanipour - deputychief of missionof the Iranian embassy in Armenia – and Shombi Sharp - UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia.

“I informed the Iranian deputy Ambassador on the agreements over overcoming the domestic political crisis, as well as conveyed my friendly address to the people and government of Iran.

I also had a meeting with UN Resident Coordinator in Armenia Shombi Sharp. We discussed issues related to making the ongoing UN programs in Armenia more effective,” Pashinyan said on Facebook.

The second round of the vote for electing a Prime Minister will take place May 8 in the Armenian parliament after lawmakers failed to make the election on May 1. Opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan, head of the Yelk (Exit) faction, was the sole candidate in the election. Pashinyan, the MP who spearheaded massive demonstrations throughout the country for about two weeks, failed to be elected by a 56-45 vote. He needed at least 53 votes to be named Prime Minister.

The opposition leader has already been officially nominated as a candidate for the second round. Pashinyan is endorsed by the Tsarukyan and ARF factions.

There are 4 factions in the Armenian parliament. The Republican Party (HHK) faction, the ruling party of Armenia, has 58 seats in the 105-seat unicameral parliament of Armenia – known as the National Assembly. The ARF faction – (Armenian Revolutionary Federation aka Dashnaktsutyun), has 7 seats. The Tsarukyan alliance has 31 seats, and the Yelk faction has 9 seats.

According to the Constitution, if a Prime Minister isn’t elected in the second round also, the parliament is dissolved by virtue of law.

The ruling party said it will not nominate their own candidate for the second round, just like in the first round. However, the HHK said it will not block the election.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan