Nikol Pashinyan has resigned as Prime Minister of Armenia following the inauguration of the newly elected National Assembly. This is provided for in the country’s Constitution. The President is to appoint a new head of government; the most likely candidate is Pashinyan himself, whose party, the «Civic Contract», secured a parliamentary majority.
Briefly about the main points
- Pashinyan stepped down as prime minister following the new parliament’s first session.
- The resignation took place in accordance with the constitutional procedure.
- «The Civic Contract» won 64 out of 105 parliamentary seats.
- The President appoints the candidate nominated by the parliamentary majority.
- The new government must be formed within 15 days of the Prime Minister’s appointment.
How the process of appointing a government works
Following the opening of the Ninth National Assembly, the constitutional process for forming the executive branch begins: the Prime Minister tender his resignation, and the President appoints the candidate nominated by the parliamentary majority.
There is no provision for a separate vote by MPs on the candidate for head of government under this procedure. Once the Prime Minister has been appointed, the government must be formed within 15 days. The Cabinet must submit its programme to Parliament no later than 20 days after its formation.
Pashinyan’s majority in the new parliament
According to the final election results, the «Civic Contract» party won 64 of the 105 seats. It received 726,819 votes, or 49.75% of those who took part in the vote. This gives the party enough votes to form a government on its own without the need for coalition talks.
The «Strong Armenia» opposition alliance is represented by 29 MPs, whilst the «Armenia» alliance has 12. Seven political parties challenged the results of the elections held on 7 June, but the Constitutional Court dismissed the appeals on 4 July.
The advantage of the «Civic Contract» is that it allows for reappointment Pashinyan the most likely outcome. At the same time, 64 votes are not enough to introduce constitutional amendments through parliament, for which two-thirds of the National Assembly — 70 members — are required. Consequently, the party has a mandate to govern independently, but cannot amend the Constitution without the support of other political forces or without following other prescribed procedures.
The new cabinet’s first tasks
Once the government has been formed, one of the next steps in parliament will be to consider its programme. In terms of foreign policy, the new cabinet is likely to continue working on the peace process with Azerbaijan, the TRIPP project and deepening cooperation with the US and the European Union.
On 16 July, the Armenian government initiated the procedure ratification of the framework agreement with the US on strategic cooperation regarding TRIPP. The document is due to be reviewed by the Constitutional Court and considered by parliament. Following the elections, the EU declared its readiness to work with the future government and parliament on reforms, peace in the region, economic growth and transport links.
