YEREVAN, MAY 7, ARMENPRESS. Opposition MP Nikol Pashinyan says there will not be any oligarchs among the government if he is elected Prime Minister.

Speaking on rumors on possible appointment of businessman Khachatur Sukiasyan as first deputy Prime Minister if elected, Pashinyan said : “I can reassure you that the government’s composition will not include oligarchs”.

He added that if elected, the new rules of the game must be clear for everyone.

“Legality is the rule. But I say again, there will be no vendettas in our country. The chapter of political and economic persecutions in Armenia is closed, and we are tasked with forming an atmosphere of solidarity. Vendettas will not happen in any issue,” he said.

Pashinyan assured that the people will soon have all answers to all questions.

“I am saying that the atmosphere of love and solidarity which currently exists shouldn’t be disrupted, however this doesn’t mean that our goals, which we have set for us, won’t be solved. We will solve the problem of equal accountability for all before the law, as well as all other problems,” he said.

He reaffirmed his earlier statement that if elected PM, no monopolies will exist in Armenia from the next day.

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, in addition to his own faction – Yelk.

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 faction 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 and will support it.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan