YEREVAN, April 14. /ARKA/. Meeting in the resort town of Tsakhkadzor today the Executive Body and the Board of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) has formally decided to nominate the party chairman Serzh Sargsyan for the post of prime minister.
The proposal was made by the deputy chairman of the party Karen Karapetyan, the HKK said in a statement placed on its official website. According to the statement, the candidacy of Serzh Sargsyan will be officially put forward by the HHK parliamentary faction on April 16.
A day earlier, Nikol Pashinyan, the head of the parliamentary opposition faction Yelk, started a round-the-clock action in protest against the possible premiership of Serzh Sargsyan. The protesters have jammed the traffic movement in the downtown Yerevan near the French Square, closing it and several nearby streets for traffic.
Serzh Sargsyan was replaced by Armen Sarkissian, who was inaugurated as the fourth president of Armenia on April 9. He became the first head of state, elected by the parliament after the country's transition to a parliamentary form of government. On the same day, the powers of Serzh Sargsyan were terminated, and the government resigned.
In 2015 Armenian voters approved shifting from the so-called semi-presidential form of government to a parliamentary republic. Under the change, the presidency is largely a ceremonial position. -0-