On 2 March, the press service of Armenia’s President Armen Sarkissian stated that he did not sign the resubmitted draft decree on relieving the chief of the staff of the country’s armed forces Onik Gasparyan. This means that the case goes to Armenia’s Constitutional Court. 

The statement of Sarkissian’s press service highlighted that the president stresses immediate resolution of the political crisis related to the resignation of Onik Gasparyan. “It is obvious that the current situation has resulted from disagreements between political and military leaderships during and after the war (in Nagorno-Karabakh), sometimes with highly personalised approaches. Legally problematic interpretations, legal practice and possible gaps in the law, which are grounds for objection to the signing of the decree, cannot be ignored either,” the statement further read.  

The opposition Homeland Salvation Movement demanded an urgent meeting with Sarkissian after the decision was made public. “In the content of the disseminated statement the leader of the country bypasses the issue of disputing the relevant decision of [Prime Minister] Nikol Pashinyan in the Constitutional Court,” the statement of the movement read.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan invited the leader of the parliamentary opposition Bright Armenia (LHK) party Edmon Marukyan to discuss the topic of snap elections in the country. “If we come to an agreement, early elections can be organised later this year. Moreover, I am against postponing the elections. I am for holding them right now,” Marukyan said. He added the failure to organise such polls is fraught with danger for the future of the country. 

When asked could he imagine national elections held with Pashinyan in office, Marukyan answered positively. “Yes, I took part in the general elections twice under ex-president Serzh Sargsyan. If I did so then, there is no problem in doing so now under Prime Minister Pashinyan?” The LHK leader also said that he has information that some members of the ruling My Step bloc were preparing constitutional amendments that would incorporate the general staff of the armed forces in the Ministry of Defence. “But I looked at the Constitution: they will not be able to pass such amendments without a referendum. Therefore, this is also a problem for the authorities. But they can push through the parliament some other changes,” he emphasised.  

However, Marukyan also spoke very critical of the country’s PM in regard to the rally he held on 1 March (Caucasus Watch reported), saying that he feels shame towards Pashinyan. “He (Pashinyan) started using administrative resources, ensuring people in Republic Square with buses. It is a shame,” he stated. “Imagine having huge amounts of administrative resources that brought 21 thousand people to the square. These authorities are so incompetent that they cannot use the administrative resource effectively,” he added. Marukyan also held a meeting with Sarkissian, where the topics of early elections and possible constitutional changes were discussed, before being invited by Pashinyan.  

Meanwhile, the vice speaker of Armenia’s parliament and Pashinyan’s fellow party colleague Alen Simonyan stated that Gasparyan’s case cannot be left unresolved until a referendum on a possible transition to a semi-presidential system of government. “The need to change the system of government in Armenia stems from the situations we face in parliament. Also, the semi-presidential system is more convenient because the same Eurasian Economic Union and the Collective Security Treaty Organization are, in fact, “presidential clubs.” The process of changing to a semi-presidential system, as Pashinyan said, can start in October, while the processes related to these provisions which can be changed without a referendum will start in the parliament,” Simonyan added. 

It should also be noted that while speaking to his supporters on 1 March, Pashinyan stated that the current political turmoil in the country could create problems in prisoner of war exchange between Armenia and Azerbaijan. “The fact is that last week's events have brought about new problems in this matter. But I want the relatives of the prisoners of war and the missing to be sure that we do not forget about them and our obligations to them for a minute, even a second. I want to say that your pain is in our hearts and believe [me when I say]: our hearts hurt like yours’ do. We are all from one family, since Armenia is my hearth, and the people are my family. We have no enemies in Armenia and will not. This does not mean that the rule of law should not be established in Armenia,” he stated.