YEREVAN -- Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian says he is resigning from his post in order to dissolve parliament and force early elections.

Pashinian made the announcement on national television late on October 16, saying that the early vote was needed "to return the entire power to the people."

Pashinian has pushed for early parliamentary elections by the end of this year following his bloc's landslide victory in the mayoral race in the capital, Yerevan, last month in a bid to unseat his political opponents, who have maintained a majority in parliament.

A former opposition lawmaker, Pashinian took office in May after spearheading weeks of protests that forced his predecessor, Serzh Sarkisian of the Republican Party of Armenia (HKK), to resign.

The HHK-dominated parliament yielded to the popular demand of the protesters to back Pashinian’s candidacy for prime minister. After being elected to the post in May, Pashinian said his government would hold early parliamentary elections within a year.

Under the Armenian Constitution, snap elections can be called only if the prime minister resigns and the parliament fails to replace him or her with someone else within two weeks.

Under the constitution, new elections then shall be held no earlier than in 30 days and no later than in 45 days -- approximately in the first half of December.

Pashinian said his government will "guarantee the free expression of the people’s will" in the general elections.

He also said that he will continue to perform his functions as prime minister until the vote is held, and expressed readiness to continue to lead the government should his political party gain a majority in the polls.

In remarks ahead of a government meeting on October 16, Pashinian said Armenia is entering "a new historical period" during which "it should complete the nonviolent velvet revolution that started in spring."

Arman Egoian, a spokesman for Pashinian, told RFE/RL on October 15 that the cabinet will hold an extraordinary session a day after Pashinian announced his resignation.</s>Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Tuesday he was resigning from his post in order for parliament to be dissolved and an early election held.

The PM announced his resignation live on national television.

"My dear and proud people, today I tendered my resignation," he was quoted as saying by AFP news agency. He also pledged to "ensure the free expression of the people's will during snap elections."

The former opposition leader swept to power in May following weeks of protests that forced the resignation of his predecessor.

Pashinyan has pushed for an early vote to be held in recent months, in an attempt to unseat his rivals who maintain a majority in parliament.

Early elections are held if legislators fail to appoint a new prime minister, and Pashinyan persuaded his opponents not to nominate any candidates.

Earlier this month, he led thousands of his supporters to besiege parliament to pressure his foes to accept an early vote.

On October 10, Pashinyan told broadcaster France 24 that "early elections should be held around December 9 or 10, give or take a day. It will be in that timeframe so I will have to tender my resignation by October 16."

Armenia has not held parliamentary elections since Pashinyan took office in May and he has said the parliament's composition does not reflect the country's political reality.</s>YEREVAN (ARMENIA): Armenia's reformist Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday announced his resignation on television, paving the way for snap elections.

"My dear and proud people, today I tendered my resignation," Pashinyan said, pledging to "ensure the free expression of (the) people's will during snap parliamentary elections."

Pashinyan's resignation is seen as a manoeuvre to return ultimately as prime minister and with control of parliament.

He came to power in May after spearheading weeks of mass anti-government rallies which toppled veteran leader Serzh Sarkisian.

Pashinyan has since reshaped the Caucasus nation's political landscape, ousting many of the old elites from power.

The new government quickly found itself at loggerheads with the majority of lawmakers who are allied with ex-president Sarkisian and have stood in the way of Pashinyan's reform drive.

Pashinyan, a 43-year-old former journalist, aims to hold snap polls before the end of the year in an attempt to weaken the influence of Sarkisian who was ousted after a 10-year stint as president.

Parliamentary elections are not scheduled until 2022.

Pashinyan's resignation could trigger snap polls -- but only if MPs twice fail to select a new prime minister over the next two weeks, resulting in the dissolution of parliament.

During a meeting with his party members on Tuesday, Pashinyan said that he planned to put forward his candidacy for the prime minister's post -- but "with the aim not to get elected" so as to spark the snap poll.

All the opposition factions in the parliament have agreed they will not nominate their own candidates for prime minister.

"Pashinyan's resignation is aimed at artificially creating a situation leading to snap polls, which he needs to complete the revolutionary process," political analyst Arman Boshyan told AFP.

Pashinyan and his ministers will continue as an acting cabinet until a new prime minister is elected.

According to the Armenian constitution, snap legislative elections must be held between 30 and 45 days after parliament is dissolved.

In a move that triggered new street protests by Pashinyan's supporters, the Armenian parliament passed on October 3 a bill making it harder to dissolve the assembly and hold snap elections.

Pashinyan accused MPs of stabbing him in the back, saying the adoption of the bill was nothing short of a "counter-revolution".

He then fired six ministers from the Prosperous Armenia and Dashnaktsutyun parties who backed the controversial bill which was sponsored by Sarkisian's Republican Party.

The Republican Party has said it is not against holding snap polls but wants them to be called no earlier than in May or June so the parties have time to prepare for the campaign.

Analysts said that Pashinyan, who has campaigned against corruption and for economic reform, is seeking new elections while he is at the peak of his popularity.

"He is in a hurry because he knows that his popularity -- which is at its peak right now -- might dwindle," said Boshyan.

On September 24, Pashinyan's bloc won a landslide victory in municipal elections, getting over 80 percent of the vote in the capital Yerevan where nearly 40 percent of the country's population lives.</s>Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has resigned in order to pave the way to early elections or, as he put it, to “complete the revolution,” that led him to power after protests this spring.

“The goal of my resignation is to complete the revolution, through holding early elections and returning the power to the people,” Pashinyan said in a televised address, adding that he and his government would continue to fulfill their duties until the elections, despite his resignation. He also voiced his intention to become the prime minister once again after the elections, if Armenians support his party during the vote.

Earlier, Pashinyan told the France 24 TV Channel that he expected the elections to be held in December. Under the Armenian constitution, the parliament has two weeks to choose a new prime minister after the government’s resignation. If the legislature fails to do so, it is dissolved automatically and new parliamentary elections are held.

All Armenian parliamentary factions said they would not put forward a candidate for the post of the head of the government, thus triggering an early vote. The Prime Minister’s resignation comes less than a week after his meeting with France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as part of a summit of the International Organization of Francophonie (IOF) in Erevan, attended by the leaders of some 40 countries.

The event was particularly remembered for Macron, Pashinyan and their spouses dancing to traditional Armenian music as well as for Pashinyan taking selfies with foreign leaders who attended the summit.

Pashinyan came to power in Armenia in May, following a series of mass protests that gripped the country in April. The 43-year-old charismatic politician seized his chance by rallying public rage against his predecessor, Serzh Sargsyan, who previously served as Armenia’s president and prime minister. Mostly peaceful protests resulted in Sargsyan stepping down and Pashinyan elected prime minister in what some people, including Pashinyan himself, called a “revolution.”

In early October, Pashinyan clashed with his opposition parliament after it adopted a law that complicates the dissolution of the legislature. At that time, he blasted the law as the start of a “counter-revolution.” He also said that he himself was going resign to speed up the disbanding of the parliament and the election of new deputies.

If you like this story, share it with a friend!</s>Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has resigned in order to pave the way to early elections or, as he put it,Pashinyan said in a televised address, adding that he and his government would continue to fulfill their duties until the elections, despite his resignation.Earlier, Pashinyan told the France 24 TV Channel that he expected the elections to be held in December. Under the Armenian constitution,All Armenian parliamentary factions said they would not put forward a candidate for the post of the head of the government, thus triggering an early vote. The Prime Minister's resignation comes less than a week after his meeting with France's President Emmanuel Macron and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as part of a summit of the International Organization of Francophonie (IOF) in Erevan, attended by the leaders of some 40 countries.The event was particularly remembered for Macron, Pashinyan and their spouses dancing to traditional Armenian music as well as for Pashinyan taking selfies with foreign leaders who attended the summit.The 43-year-old charismatic politician seized his chance by rallying public rage against his predecessor, Serzh Sargsyan, who previously served as Armenia's president and prime minister. Mostly peaceful protests resulted in Sargsyan stepping down and Pashinyan elected prime minister in what some people, including Pashinyan himself, called a "revolution."</s>YEREVAN (Reuters) - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Tuesday he was resigning from his post in order for parliament to be dissolved and an early election held.

The former opposition leader swept to power in May amid protests. There have not been parliamentary elections since the revolution and Pashinyan has said parliament’s composition does not reflect the country’s political reality.</s>Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced his resignation The decision aims to trigger early parliamentary elections, which the Prime minister wants to hold in December.

The Prime Minister announced the resignation in a televised address on Public TV.

Pashinyan said the decision to step down is not an attempt to avoid the responsibility he has undertaken, but rather an effort to finish the non-violent, velvet, popular revolution by holding snap parliamentary elections and thus returning the whole power to the people.

“The roadmap for reaching extraordinary parliamentary elections is as follows: after my resignation, the President of the Republic immediately accepts the resignation of the government and the National Assembly does not elect Prime Minister twice in the next 14 days. As a result the Parliament gets dissolved and the President sets snap parliamentary elections,” the Prime Minister stated.

He said the government and the Prime Minister will continue to perform their duties.

Nikol Pashinyan wished success to all political forces in the parliamentary elections and pledged that the government will ensure the free expression of people’s will in the polls.</s>Armenia's reformist Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday announced his resignation on television, paving the way for snap elections.

"My dear and proud people, today I tendered my resignation," Pashinyan said, pledging to "ensure the free expression of people's will during snap parliamentary elections."

Pashinyan's resignation is seen as a manoeuvre to return as prime minister with control of the parliament.

He came to power in May after spearheading weeks of mass anti-government rallies that toppled veteran leader Serzh Sarkisian.

Pashinyan has since reshaped the Caucasus nation's political landscape, ousting from power old elites.

But Armenia has plunged into a political crisis as Pashinyan's government has been at loggerheads with the majority of lawmakers in parliament.

They are allied to ex-president Sarkisian and have stood in the way of Pashinyan's reform drive.

The former journalist, 43, aims to hold snap polls before the end of the year in an attempt to weaken the influence of Sarkisian who was forced from power after a 10-year stint as president.

Parliamentary elections are not scheduled until 2022.

According to the Armenian constitution, snap legislative elections are to be held 30 days at the earliest and no later than 45 days after the parliament's dissolution.</s>Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Tuesday he was resigning from his post in order for parliament to be dissolved and an early election held. The former opposition leader was put in power by a parliamentary vote in May after weeks of mass protests against corruption and cronyism, but there have been no parliamentary elections since the revolution last spring.

Pashinyan has said the composition of parliament does not reflect the country's new political reality. "The aim of my resignation is not to shirk the responsibility I took on myself before you, but on the contrary to take the velvet revolution to the end through early elections and fully return power to the people," he said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

Early parliamentary elections can be called in the ex-Soviet republic of three million people if parliament fails twice to choose a new prime minister and the legislature is dissolved.

Pashinyan, whose popularity rating is high, said he would remain acting prime minister until a new one is elected by a new parliament. He said earlier this month he wanted parliamentary elections to be held in the first half of December.

In a move that triggered new street protests by Pashinyan's supporters, the Armenian parliament passed on Oct. 3 a bill making it harder to dissolve the assembly and hold snap elections. Pashinyan accused MPs of stabbing him in the back, saying the adoption of the bill was nothing short of a "counter-revolution." He then fired six ministers from the Prosperous Armenia and Dashnaktsutyun parties who backed the controversial bill which was sponsored by the former president Sargsyan's Republican Party. The Republican Party has said it is not against holding snap polls but wants them to be called no earlier than in May or June so the parties have time to prepare for the campaign. On Sept. 24, Pashinyan's bloc won a landslide victory in municipal elections, getting over 80 percent of the vote in the capital Yerevan where nearly 40 percent of the country's population lives.</s>YEREVAN (Reuters) - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Tuesday he was resigning from his post in order for parliament to be dissolved and an early election held.

The former opposition leader was put in power by a parliamentary vote in May after weeks of mass protests against corruption and cronyism, but there have been no parliamentary elections since the revolution last spring.

Pashinyan has said the composition of parliament does not reflect the country’s new political reality.

“The aim of my resignation is not to shirk the responsibility I took on myself before you, but on the contrary to take the velvet revolution to the end through early elections and fully return power to the people,” he said on Tuesday.

Early parliamentary elections can be called in the ex-Soviet republic of three million people if parliament fails twice to choose a new prime minister and the legislature is dissolved.

Public support for parties not affiliated with Pashinyan is very low - not only for the former ruling Republican party but also others including Prosperous Armenia and Dashnaktsutyun.

The My Step Alliance, which includes Pashinyan’s Civil Contract Party, won 81 percent of the mayoral vote in the capital Yerevan last month.

Pashinyan, whose popularity rating is high, said he would remain acting prime minister until a new one is elected by a new parliament. He said earlier this month he wanted parliamentary elections to be held in the first half of December.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan resigns from his post in order to dissolve the National Assembly and force early elections by the end of the year.