© REUTERS / Gleb Garanich
The ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) has declared that it will ensure the election of opposition leader Pashinyan as the country's prime minister.
"Representatives of the party will not be members of the government. ... From now on, we are an opposition party," Eduard Sharmazanov, the deputy speaker of the parliament and member of the Republican Party's executive body, said on Tuesday.
Nikol Pashinyan has been elected Armenia's prime minister in the second round of voting in the country's parliament, the National Assembly, with
59 lawmakers giving their ballots for his candidacy and 42 voting against him.
The parliament finally managed to elect the country's prime minister due to the votes given by the RPA, as the day before the ruling party
vowed to secure successful elections.On May 1, the first vote in the Armenian parliament failed, since the only candidate, opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan, received only 45 votes out of the required 53.
Under Armenian law, the parliament has to elect a prime minister a week after the first attempt of the vote, otherwise the legislature will automatically be dissolved.In the wake of the vote, people took to the streets of Armenia's capital Erevan to hold a rally.
The situation in Armenia has been tense since April 13, when protests led by Pashinyan began in Armenia. The opposition protested against the election of former President Serzh Sargsyan to the post of prime minister.
A few days later, the opposition announced the beginning of a "velvet revolution," but the parliament nevertheless elected Sargsyan as the head of the government. However, less than a week later, he resigned amid continuing protests.The backlash against his rule was triggered after Sargsyan, who served as Armenia's president from 2008, stepped down when his term ended, but was subsequently nominated for the premiership, which has largely been viewed as an attempt to stay in power as a newly amended constitution transferred some of the presidential powers to the head of the government.
Comment: We had
colour revolutions and now we have fabric revolutions, whatever next? It looks like Armenia has fallen to more insidious powers,
Ukraine-style, and we wait to see if the people will be as happy and
prosperous as
those suffering in Ukraine.
For a possible explanation why Armenia has been targeted:
Armenian prime minister resigns in face of protests: Coup echoes Ukraine's Euromaidan
Armenia will more than likely pivot even faster to the West like it's already been in the process of doing now that the shadowy Gulen-like California diaspora is on the verge of seizing total control of the state by proxy and have intimidated the population into accepting the "replacement" of their Russian-friendly "oligarchs" with American ones instead. Russia stands to lose from what just happened because the Pravy Sektor-esque hyper-nationalists might conveniently attempt to redirect society's piqued anger towards their country's historical partner now that it's associated with the disgraced Sargsyan after President Putin ironically congratulated him last week for "[his] appointment to this responsible post (which) reaffirms [his] high political authority and broad support for the reforms aimed at solving the socioeconomic challenges facing Armenia."
However, one of Pashinyan's first moves was this (from
Alexander Mercouris):
Almost the first steps Pashinyan has taken as Armenia's new leader is pledge to continue Armenia's military alliance with Russia - which he says (correctly) is essential for Armenia's security - and say that Armenia will remain a member of the Russian led Eurasian Union.
Pashinyan has also said that he intends to attend the forthcoming Eurasian Union summit meeting, where he intends to meet Russian President Putin for the first time.
Pashinyan has expressed opposition in the past to Armenia's membership of the Eurasian Union. That will undoubtedly lead some to suspect that his recent pledges to continue Armenia's alliance with Russia and to keep Armenia inside the Eurasian Union are cynical manoeuvres intended to buy him time whilst he builds up his power base so that he can chip away at the links to Russia later.
I take a different view. I think it more likely that Pashinyan's earlier criticisms were simply intended to distinguish him from Sargsyan and the Republicans, and now that he has achieved his purpose of becoming Armenia's Prime Minister they will be quietly forgotten.
Even if that is wrong, the very fact that Pashinyan has felt obliged to make these pledges as soon as it became clear that he would become Prime Minister speaks for itself.
The simple fact is that Pashinyan would almost certainly not have become Armenia's Prime Minister if he had not made these pledges. Quite simply there is no critical mass in Armenia of opponents of the nation's alliance with Russia sufficient to propel to power a politician who pledges to end that alliance. Far too many Armenians realise that given Armenia's difficult geopolitical environment the alliance with Russia is - as Pashinyan says - essential for Armenia's security to make it possible for an Armenian politician who wishes to end that alliance to gain power.
That immediately limits what Pashinyan can do, even if he secretly does wish to break with Russia, which as it happens I strongly doubt.
Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines:
The Russia Collusion Ruse: Why the US Deep State Hates Russia, Not Trump
Comment: We had colour revolutions and now we have fabric revolutions, whatever next? It looks like Armenia has fallen to more insidious powers, Ukraine-style, and we wait to see if the people will be as happy and prosperous as those suffering in Ukraine.
For a possible explanation why Armenia has been targeted: Armenian prime minister resigns in face of protests: Coup echoes Ukraine's Euromaidan However, one of Pashinyan's first moves was this (from Alexander Mercouris):
- "This is blackmail": Armenian PM walks out of crisis meeting with 'velvet revolution' leader, who is detained shortly after
- Armenian prime minster resigns in face of protests: Coup echoes Ukraine's Euromaidan
- Hundreds of protesters arrested in Armenia - authorities claim law & order is threatened
- Mass protests continue to grip Armenian capital despite PM Sargsyan's resignation
Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: The Russia Collusion Ruse: Why the US Deep State Hates Russia, Not Trump