Armen Rustamyan: ARF Dashnaktsutyun will support Nikol Pashinyan`s  candidacy 

ArmInfo. ARF "Dashnaktsutyun" will support the candidacy of Nikol Pashinyan as prime minister and will assist him in future as well. Armen Rustamyan, head of the ARF faction "Dashnaktsutyun", stated at a briefing in the National Assembly of Armenia on May 7.

Rustamyan noted that no scripts can be ruled out, and it is possible  that Pashinyan will not be elected to the post of prime minister  again. "This can lead to dangerous consequences, because if the prime  minister is not elected, it will lead to early elections. I believe  that early elections do not at the moment proceed from the interests  of Armenia," he said. The MP also noted that if RPA does not support  Pashinyan's candidacy, Party representatives will not have political  resources for further actions. "Regardless of who express the  people's demands, they must be fulfilled," Rustamyan said.

The deputy also noted the fact that there is no doubt that the early  parliamentary elections will be held, however, for this, it is  necessary to change the Electoral Code and minimize pre-election  bribes. "The leader of the Elk faction himself sees the problems  facing him and the need to resolve them in the near future, and after  that, one can safely hold early elections," Rustamyan said.

Also Armen Rustamyan stated that in future the powers of the Prime  Minister of Armenia should be limited and evenly divided between the  government, parliament and prime minister. The MP noted that the  parliamentary system should be preserved, but it is necessary to take  steps to decentralize the power, which currently focuses on the hands  of one person. 

However, that the ARF just a few months earlier voted unanimously for  bills aimed at concentrating power in the hands of the prime  minister, and the deputies from the "Dashnaktsutyun" together with  the Republicans in their speeches strongly supported these  initiatives. Touching upon the country's foreign policy, the head of  the ARF faction noted that the agreements reached within the  framework of the EAEU and the CSTO should be preserved under the new  government. "The Artsakh issue should be resolved in accordance with  the referendum held by the people of Karabakh in 1992," Rustamyan  concluded. He also noted that the place of ARF Dashnaktsutyun  secretary Aghvan Vardanyan, who was expelled from the party, because  he disobeyed her decision and did not vote for Nikol Pashinyan on May  1, will be occupied by Armenuhi Kureghyan.