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Armenia’s new premier to be named April 13

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan resigned on April 3. The resignation was announced at a meeting of the ruling Republican Party leaders’ meeting in Yerevan

YEREVAN, April 12, /ITAR-TASS/. Armenia’s new prime minister will be named on April 13, officials at the headquarters of the ruling Republican Party said.

The party will elect its executive body and council on Sunday and they will make the final decision on candidate for premiership. Until then President Serzh Sargsyan will continue consultations with parliamentary parties.

Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan resigned on April 3. The resignation was announced at a meeting of the ruling Republican Party leaders’ meeting in Yerevan.

He tendered resignation to President Serzh Sargsyan a month earlier but it was put away pending Armenia’s accession to the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia and the Republican Party’s economic forum on this topic.

In his letter of resignation, Sargsyan wrote that “the decision is timely and well considered”.

“This is a balanced decision that was not made on the spur of the moment,” Sharmazanov said.

He said no candidates for premiership or the composition of a new government had been discussed at the party meeting.

On April 2, the Constitutional Court ruled that some of the provisions in the government-initiated pension reform plan were running counter to the Constitution. The judgment allowed some politicians to say that Sargsyan’s resignation was inevitable.

The president has not accepted the resignation yet. Once the prime minister resigns, his whole government steps down with him. Under the Constitution, a new prime minister has to be appointed within ten days after the government’s resignation. A new government has to be appointed within 20 days after the appointment of the prime minister.

Sargsyan was reappointed as prime minister in May 2013.

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