I was one of the first among the politicians to announce that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was not going to resign, despite the fact that the government was trying to persuade both the public and the opposition to the contrary. Parliamentary opposition Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) MP Naira Zohrabyan stated this in a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am on Monday, commenting on Sunday’s meeting between the MPs of the ruling My Step bloc and Pashinyan.
Zohrabyan recalled that Pashinyan was trying to reach an agreement with the parliamentary opposition by proposing a joint memorandum considering his resignation, but only if the opposition did not nominate a candidate for PM. "As it is known, the leader of our party, Gagik Tsarukyan, categorically refused this proposal," the MP added.
She noted that the current government has tried to put forward an absurd notion that they can dissolve the parliament, but PM Pashinyan will remain in power and will continue to lead the country. "However, they realized that this is problematic, as the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and international organizations would oppose this initiative," the PAP lawmaker added.
According to Zohrabyan, the government has become convinced that it cannot achieve the desired support either in the provinces or in the capital Yerevan, and this was also the reason why it decided not to hold early parliamentary elections.
Naira Zohrabyan agreed that the activities of the opposition have slightly decreased after the New Year, but she assured that their fight against the current government will resume with new force.