President's resignation gives Pashinyan a chance to identify a "wedding general" personally

Baku/24.01.22/Turan: Yesterday's resignation of the Armenian President, who serves as a "wedding general," came as a surprise to official Baku which is on the verge of difficult and lengthy negotiations with its recent military adversary.  Is the resignation of Armen Sargsyan, who opposes many of Prime Minister Pashinyan's decisions, good or bad for us?

Talking to Turan, Professor of Political Science of Korea University Rovshan Ibrahimov said that according to the Constitution of Armenia the new President will be elected not earlier than within 25 days and not later than within 35 days. His election will be held by the parliament of the country. When adjusted for the fact that the Parliament is dominated by Nikol Pashinyan's Civic Agreement Party, it's not hard to identify the new President's affiliation. The new President will be elected from the same Party, or a sympathetic foreigner.

"Pashinyan has an excellent opportunity to determine the candidacy of a "pocket President." The new candidate should be nominal not only because of his position but also because of his loyalty to the country's Prime Minister. The only problem is that Pashinyan is experiencing a shortage of loyal and capable personnel, so any reshuffles are painful. So the political instability in Armenia is ongoing," Ibragimov said.

Farkhad Mammadov, former head of the analytical center in Presidential Administration, analyzed the consequences of Armen Sarkisyan's resignation. He agrees with Ibragimov's views on Pashinyan's minimum program:

The President is chosen by the Parliament, so Pashinyan will determine the next one. Surely the choice will fall on a hand-picked candidate who can be controlled. The man cannot be young, so someone older is needed. Levon Ter-Petrosyan could play that role if he and Pashinyan had not quarrelled so much.

If we choose someone close to him, the short-list for the premiership includes Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan (he was a speaker, he will ask for it himself), Speaker Alain Simonyan (he can be neutralized), and Council of Ministers Secretary Armen Grigoryan (Karabakhian, obedient, provocative appointee). It is clear that whoever he is, but the man is needed for the props, and the period is not long, - the expert said.

"A referendum is planned in Armenia on the transition to a semi-presidential system, and Armen Sargsyan's resignation creates an opportunity for him to participate fully in the Presidential elections but already with the authority to form his own party or bloc. He has enough time. His recent visits and investment projects are indicative what he is capable of, so to speak, an advance payment. And he is not going to share political dividends from this with Pashinyan.

Armen Sargsyan is capable of becoming the third force to claim power. The current power-opposition configuration does not cover the entire electorate in Armenia," Mammadov concluded. -0-