The President Has Limited Time and Three Options: Elinar Vardanyan

Tert.am publishes the article titled "The President's Three Options" by Elinar Vardanyan, a member of the Alternative Projects Group. In the unprecedented dramatic situation created in the history of Armenia, the President must take important steps.

We understand that the President is under immense direct and indirect pressure from the state machinery and the Prime Minister. However, we want to believe that the President's experience and the importance of the issue will compel him to resist political pressures and manipulations.

The President has limited time and three options:

1. The President resists the pressures and acts within the framework of his initial decision, referring the matter to the Constitutional Court. He then begins consultations with parliamentary and extra-parliamentary forces, structures demanding the resignation of the Prime Minister, and the opposition platform to find political solutions to the created crisis. This would be a solid decision and action from a statesman guided by the public interest. Regardless of the Constitutional Court's decision, the President will take an honest step before history and society.
2. He signs the act to dismiss the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. This would be the worst thing he could do to the country and society. It would lead to sharp escalation and clashes. In that case, he would have no choice but to leave Armenia, as he would lose his credibility as a political figure, sharing the full responsibility for the possible collapse of the country with the Prime Minister.
3. He does not sign the act and does not address the Constitutional Court regarding the constitutionality of the act. The dismissal act comes into legal force, while the President appeals to the Constitutional Court regarding the constitutionality of the provisions of the "Law on Military Service and the Status of Servicemen." In this way, the President tries to save his political face, but fundamentally, he plays Nikol Pashinyan's game. Understandably, the discussion of the issue in the Constitutional Court will be time-consuming, and the army will suffer a second and heavy blow. Although this is essentially different from the second option, it almost repeats it in terms of content and leads the country towards a shock. This would be not so much an honest step towards the country, army, and society, and it will appear that the President is guided more by personal interests, sidelining the state interest.

   Elinar Vardanyan
   Alternative Projects Group