What Armen Sargsyan Said a Year Ago. 'Zhoghovurd'

It turns out that former Armenian President Armen Sargsyan was not against holding the presidency with expanded powers, at least this is the statement he made at the end of 2020 during a meeting with public representatives in Gyumri. The official announcement presents an excerpt of the constitutional amendments, with significant emphasis placed on his opinion that early parliamentary elections should be held in a year and a half.

“If we want to have normal elections, we need to change the Electoral Code, and amendments should be made to the Constitution. The only way is to have a professional government, and all other political figures should prepare for elections in a year or a year and a half. These people need time to consolidate, new leaders should emerge, especially the youth,” it is stated in the announcement.

However, besides all this, the president did not hide that if the governance system in the country changes and a presidential or semi-presidential system is adopted, he would not be opposed to participating in the elections with his team.

This was mentioned to 'Zhoghovurd' newspaper by political scientist Gagik Hambaryan, who also participated in the meeting with Armen Sargsyan. “He stated that if constitutional changes occur in the future, he does not rule out that his team will be formed and actively participate in the political processes. He detailed how he envisions economic development and other issues. I do not think that Armen Sargsyan is paving the way for Nikol Pashinyan, as he has vast opportunities,” he noted.

Of course, this is one of the hypotheses; broader circles do not rule out the possibility that he left his position realizing that decisions could soon be made by Nikol Pashinyan.

The complete article is in today’s edition of the newspaper.