“Zhoghovurd” reports that President Armen Sarkissian may not sign a controversial bill adopted by the Armenian parliament on Monday into law. In that case, Sarkissian will have to ask the Constitutional Court to rule on the bill’s conformity with the Armenian constitution. An article of the constitution gives the parliament two weeks to elect a new prime minister in case of the current premier’s resignation. The bill says the two-week period must not cover possible disruptions of parliament sessions by protesters. The paper suggests that the Constitutional Court could validate the bill not least because its members were appointed by the former authorities.
“The National Assembly must be dissolved,” writes “Aravot.” “We need a new parliament. The sooner the better. That [new] National Assembly will not necessarily have more decent, let alone more competent, members. But the new parliament will be trusted by the majority of Armenia’s citizens, at least during the first one or two years of its tenure. And that is extremely necessary for Armenia. Besides, this uncertain period will come to an end, which will allow our state to address pressing internal and external issues.” The paper says that the current parliamentary majority will not dare to appoint a new prime minister in the event of Nikol Pashinian’s tactical resignation.
“Zhamanak” criticizes the leading parliamentary forces -- the Republican Party (HHK), Prosperous Armenia (BHK) and Dashnaktsutyun -- for saying that the elections must be held in May. The paper dismisses their arguments that political groups need more time to properly prepare for the polls. “A force not prepared for elections in December will not be prepared in May either,” it says. “In essence, a few more months [of preparation] would change nothing in terms of the readiness of political forces or their competitiveness. These objections are only designed to win time.”
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Facebook Forum