YEREVAN, MAY 4, ARMENPRESS. Acting Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan has named Arthur Poghosyan as acting minister of culture after the resignation of Armen Amiryan. Poghosyan was deputy minister of culture when minister Amiryan resigned on May 2.

A new government is expected to be formed after the PM election on May 8.

Nikol Pashinyan will most likely be elected Prime Minister since the ruling party said it won’t nominate a candidate and will endorse whoever is nominated.

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