Prime Minister of Armenia agreed to hold parliamentary elections in advance
Xinhua News Agency, Tbilisi, March 1 (Reporter Li Ming) News from Yerevan: Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan stated on the 1st that he agreed to hold parliamentary elections in advance if approved by the parliament.
According to the Armenian News Agency, Pashinyan made this statement at a rally held at the Republic Square in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, and called for a referendum on constitutional amendments to be held within this year.
Pashinyan said that because the current constitution "has some risk factors", Armenia should hold a referendum on a new constitution or constitutional amendments in October this year. "It is one of the possible options to make the country's government transition to a semi-presidential system."
He said that he will work closely with the parliament, government, president and other political forces to advance this process.
According to previous reports by the Armenian News Agency, the runner-up General Staff Department issued a statement on February 25, demanding Pashinyan and his cabinet to resign, saying that "the government's weak governance and wrong foreign policy have put the country on the brink of destruction."
In response to this situation, Pashinyan used "attempted coup d'état" as an excuse to announce the dismissal of Chief of Staff Gasparyan.
The Presidential Palace of Armenia issued a statement on February 27, stating that President Sarki quite dayly rejected Pashinyan’s proposal to dismiss the chief of staff of the army, stressing that the president does not support any political forces and "makes decisions based solely on national interests."