The Only Solution is the Prime Minister's Immediate and Voluntary Resignation: Levon Ter-Petrosyan

Ilur.am has published an article by Armenia’s first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan. “Vazgen Manukyan today presented three options for resolving the political crisis: a. a military coup, b. achieving the resignation of the Prime Minister through popular pressure organized by the Homeland Salvation Movement, and c. the unacceptable nature of holding early elections by the current Prime Minister.

However, he does not take into account the following circumstances: the first option is absolutely unconstitutional, and the army, realizing this, categorically rejected it despite the pressures from the opposition. As for the Homeland Salvation Movement, it is now obsolete, as more than four months of public events and sharp internal disagreements have shown that it does not enjoy broad public support and is completely exhausted.

Regarding the third option, I fully agree with Manukyan. Why? Because the Prime Minister and the political force backing him, apart from avoiding responsibility for the disgraceful defeat, are guided not by concerns for strengthening and empowering the state but exclusively by an overt obsession with maintaining their power at any cost.

I also agree with the assertion voiced in society that if early elections are organized by the ruling force, they will not hesitate to use administrative resources extensively, turning all polling stations into hotspots of tension. I am convinced that in that case, we will witness the most disgraceful elections in the history of Armenia. And that could mean the end of Armenian statehood or a prolonged nightmarish existence.

Therefore, the only way out, in my opinion, that serves the interests of the state, the people, and even the Prime Minister personally, is his immediate and voluntary resignation, ensuring legal guarantees of immunity by the National Assembly, and his, albeit temporary, asylum abroad. In that case, the Prime Minister’s duties should be entrusted to a non-partisan Deputy Prime Minister, who, by virtue of his neutrality, would be capable of ensuring fair elections.”