Who will be the Next Prime Minister?

On the evening of April 3, after the executive session of the Republican Party of Armenia, the party’s spokesperson Eduard Sharmazanov announced that Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan had handed in his letter of resignation. The next day, the resignation of Prime Minister Sargsyan became top news for news outlets across Armenia. Print and electronic press began discussing possible candidates for Sargsyan’s position. Civilnet collected the various names rumored to be possibilities for the position of Armenia’s next prime minister. Below we present the “candidates.”

The newspaper “Haykakan Jhamanak” (Armenian Times) mentions that the Republican Party spokesperson Eduard Sharmazanov had announced that the new prime minister may not be a member of the ruling Republican Party. Haykakan Jhamanak writes that from the ruling elite there are two possible candidates for prime minister who are not members of the Republican Party; one is Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan, the other is Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanian. “We don’t exclude the possibility of the President’s Chief of Staff Vigen Sargsyan as well. National Assembly President Hovik Abarhamyan might be a good candidate, albeit a more outdated and dangerous one. It’s possible that the Head of the Prosperous Armenia Party Gagik Tsarukyan or former President Robert Kocharyan might be next in line. There’s a possibility as well that President Serzh Sargsyan might appoint the Head of Police, Lieutenant General Vladimir Gasparyan as Prime Minister.”

The newspaper “Chorrord Ishkhatnutyun” (Fourth Power) writes that the ruling elite is in search of a new prime minister. According to the newspaper, this has led to two conflicting opinions; one side sees Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan as the next prime minister, and the other side sees President Sargsyan’s Chief of Staff Vigen Sargsyan as the front runner. “Other names have been mentioned as well, including the General Manager of the mobile operator Vivacell-MTS, Ralph Yirikian and Russia based Armenian businessman Ruben Vardanyan,” writes Chorrord Ishkhanutyun.

The daily newspaper Azg also mentions Ralph Yirikyan’s name as a possible candidate.

The online newspaper Jhamanak (Time) sites a source which names Vigen Sargsyan as a possible candidate, “who might serve as a transitional prime minister.”

The daily newspaper “Hraparak” notes that former Prime Minister Armen Sargsyan, who until recently was considered the front-runner for the job, is now no longer the only one being considered. They write, “It’s clear that the appointment of a new prime minister will now be coordinated with Russian authorities. In this regard the most acceptable candidate will be former director of “Armrusgasprom” Karen Karapetyan. Robert Kocharyan’s candidacy is also a possibility, as this is the best chance for his return to politics. An unexpected new candidate is General Manager of Vivacell-MTS Ralph Yirikian. He is the people’s most popular candidate for the charity work he’s carried out over the last several years.”

In short, the following names have been rumored to be candidates for the position of prime minister throughout news and social media outlets: the President’s Chief of Staff Vigen Sargsyan, former Prime Minsiter Armen Sargysan, Minister of Defense Seryran Ohanian, former director of Armrusgasprom Karen Karapetyan, General Manager of Vivacell-MTS Ralph Yirikian, former President Robert Kocharyan, President of the National Assembly Hovik Abrahamyan, Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan, Head of Police Vladimir Gasparyan, and Head of the Prosperous Armenia Party Gagik Tsarukyan.

According to Article 55 of Armenia’s Constitution, after the president accepts a government member’s resignation, members of that government continue their work until a new government is formed. The president has to appoint a prime minister within ten days after the government member resigns. The president also has to form a new government twenty days after a new prime minister is appointed.