Armenian opposition bloc predicts premier’s resignation

Arminfo
10 Feb 05

Yerevan, 10 February: The work of the Armenian National Assembly has
been paralysed, the secretary of the opposition Justice bloc, Viktor
Dallakyan, told a news conference at the National Assembly today.

He said the existence of a parliamentary crisis was confirmed by the
lack of a quorum over the past three days and by the MPs’ inability
to adopt the National Assembly’s agenda, which has happened for the
first time in the history of the Armenian parliament.

Dallakyan said the parliamentary crisis could trigger a shift in
the balance of political forces in the National Assembly. And that,
he stressed, could cause the new parliamentary majority to pass a
no-confidence vote in the prime minister.

“If the developments unfold in this direction, Prime Minister Andranik
Markaryan will have to tender his resignation. He will be replaced by
Defence Minister Serzh Sarkisyan who will then succeed the Armenian
president,” Viktor Dallakyan said.

At the same time, he did not rule out that the parliament could be
dissolved by a presidential decree.

“The dissolution of the parliament will give Armenian President Robert
Kocharyan the opportunity to divert the international community’s
attention from the Nagornyy Karabakh problem to the issue of early
parliamentary elections, which will eventually put off the adoption
of an unfavourable Karabakh settlement plan,” the MP said.

Dallakyan said the Justice bloc would soon issue a new harshly-worded
statement on Nagornyy Karabakh. He said the best way out of the
current situation was the resignation of Robert Kocharyan and early
presidential and parliamentary elections.

Dallakyan promised that the opposition would do its best to turn
the forthcoming constitutional referendum into the referendum of no
confidence in Armenian President Kocharyan.