EurasiaNet, NY
March 26 2007

ARMENIA: POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY FOLLOWS PREMIER’S DEATH
Marianna Grigoryan 3/26/07

The sudden death of Prime Minister Andranik Markarian on March 25
from heart failure has sparked considerable political unease in
Armenia, with residents expressing concern over what implications it
could have for parliamentary elections just a month and a half away.

"We have lost a statesman, a colleague, a friend who headed the
government for nearly seven years in the 15-and-a-half year history
of our independence, and those seven years have been the best years
of our state," President Robert Kocharian told cabinet members on
March 26, local media outlets reported.

As dictated by the Constitution, the Armenian government resigned on
March 26, to be reformed under a new premier. A new prime minister
will be appointed within 10 days and a new government will be set up
within 20 days. President Kocharian has asked ministers to continue
their work until then and directed that Markarian’s funeral be held
on March 28, which has been designated as an official day of
mourning.

Already speculation has begun about who will likely succeed the
55-year-old Markarian, Armenia’s longest serving prime minister and
president of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA). Most
observers see Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, arguably the former
cabinet’s most influential member, as the frontrunner for the post.
[For details, see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The defense minister,
who served as chairman of the board of the ruling Republican Party,
was named the party’s acting chairman following Markarian’s death.

In a March 26 statement, Armen Rustamian, a representative of the
Supreme Council of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Party,
a fellow member of Armenia’s ruling coalition with the Republican
Party, affirmed that his party would support Sarkisian for prime
minister, the Regnum news agency reported.

"According to the 2003 agreement, the prime minister’s portfolio
belongs to the RPA, and for this reason the head of the government
must be a representative of the Republican Party," Rustamian said, in
reference to the coalition formed following Armenia’s last
parliamentary elections. "If the government decides to nominate Serzh
Sarkisian for this post, then the ARF will support this candidacy."

Inside Republican Party headquarters, the atmosphere has been tense
since Markarian’s death was announced. Flowers surround a photograph
of the late prime minister placed in the center of the party’s
office. In a televised speech to party members, Parliament Speaker
and Republican Party Deputy Chairman Tigran Torosian called
Markarian’s death "a huge loss for all of us."

"He was not only a great political figure and statesman, but also a
person who was always ready to listen even to his opponent, even to
an ordinary person, a passerby, a man who was always the embodiment
of tolerance and care for people," Torosian said.

In comments to the government, Kocharian, who has no official party
affiliation, appeared to echo those concerns. Markarian, he told
cabinet members, "left us at a very crucial time, and as the
authorities, we must provide the correct solutions for finding a way
to get out of the current situation."

Particular attention has already begun to focus on how the
appointment of Markarian’s successor will influence relations between
the Republican Party and the increasingly popular Prosperous Armenia
party, already cited as the frontrunner for the May 12 parliamentary
vote in some public opinion polls. [For details, see the Eurasia
Insight archive]. Opposition and pro-government political parties,
however, have refrained from official comments on the matter.

Ordinary Yerevan residents, however, are split in their opinions. "I
think Markarian’s death will cause big disturbances in the upcoming
elections," commented 66-year-old pensioner Hakob Muradian. Other
city residents disputed that view, saying that the event will bring
no changes in the near future.

A computer engineer by education, Markarian, a longtime Republican
Party member, was named prime minister in May 2000, just months after
the October 1999 assassination of Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian,
Parliamentary Speaker Karen Demirchian and several other senior
officials. [For details, see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Prime Minister Markarian, who suffered from obesity and was a smoker,
died from cardiac failure at his Yerevan apartment on March 25, at
about 1.20 pm local time, according to official reports.

A close friend of the late prime minister, who asked to remain
anonymous, told EurasiaNet that Markarian’s health conditions had
been deteriorating for the past several days. According to the
source, a high fever, elevated blood pressure and a general sense of
ill health had already prompted Markarian to cancel an earlier
scheduled trip to France.

Editor’s Note: Marianna Grigoryan is a reporter for the
Armenianow.com weekly in Yerevan.