YEREVAN, January 24. /TASS/. Armenian Prime Minister says his team has not decided on the candidacy for the next president of the republic after the resignation of Armen Sarkisyan.
"The resignation was unexpected for us, so we did not discuss a potential candidacy," Pashinyan said during an online press conference on Facebook. "It is impossible to elect a president without the Civil Contract [Pashinyan’s party - TASS] faction. We must create a situation, when the parliamentary majority, the government, and the president work together and bear a responsibility for the country during this difficult time. We will discuss the candidacy, we don’t have it right now."
Pashinyan said he found out about Sarkisyan’s resignation in just three hours before the statement was published at the presidential website.
"I learned about the president’s resignation in three hours before it was published. Armen Sarkisyan called me and announced his decision. […] I asked him whether he called me to discuss it. He replied that no, the decision was made already. We knew about his position on constitutional amendments. Our positions differ. I take the president’s arguments into account and I do not consider it possible to comment on them," the Prime Minister said.
Sarkisyan, elected by the parliament in 2018, resigned late on Sunday. He explained his step, claiming that the president does not have means to affect the most important national issues in domestic and foreign policy.
The National Assembly (parliament) of Armenia elects a president for a seven-year term. The candidacies are being presented by parliamentary factions. Under the Armenian constitution, the parliament must elect a new president in 25 days after the president’s resignation, but not later than in 35 days.