On Sunday (28 March) the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, announced that he would formally step-down next month ahead of the June snap election in order to quell the political crisis that continues to consume his country. Whilst formally stepping down, Pashinyan will continue to serve as interim prime minister until the elections have take place.
Speaking on Sunday in a village in north-west Armenia, the leader stated:
“I will resign in April – not to leave power, but to hold early parliamentary elections. I will continue to act as prime minister.”
He told his audience that if elected again, he would continue to serve better than before; also promising to transfer power were the people to choose someone else.
Since signing the trilateral ceasefire agreement with Azerbaijan and Russia, which ended the Second Karabakh War on 10 November 2020, pressure has mounted on the leader to resign. In recent months, both protesters and supporters of Pashinyan have taken to the streets seeking to make their voices heard. In February, the crisis came to a head when an open letter was published by the former Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces and a number of other senior army officers, calling for Pashinyan’s resignation.
In order to put an end to the ongoing crisis, Pashinyan announced snap elections for 20 June earlier this month; however, some don’t believe that the elections will provide a solution to Armenia’s political issues.