Politician: Statement by Armenia`s third president may deprive  opposition of only political basis for ousting Pashinyan

ArmInfo.  The statement by Armenia's third president, Serzh Sargsyan, claiming that "Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is not running for a third term because the previous elections were snap elections," could strip the opposition of its sole political justification for removing him from power.  Political commentator Karpis Pashoyan, who participated in the recent  parliamentary elections alongside Edmon Marukyan, leader of the  Bright Armenia party, wrote  on his Facebook page.

According to Pashoyan, critiquing this "third term" is currently the  only sound political-science basis through which Pashinyan's  administration can be discredited. "Everything else falls into the  realm of poetry. Let us recall that back in 2018, the newly elected  Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan had everything perfectly aligned on  paper. The vast majority of political forces and the public had  accepted the results of the 2017 parliamentary elections; people were  essentially ready to live by the rules of the new game—had it not  been for the realization that a form of constitutional 'fraud' had  been committed," Pashoyan noted.  Thus, the politician believes that  no (Velvet — Ed.) revolution would have occurred had Karen Karapetyan  remained Prime Minister at the time, or had the Republican Party of  Armenia (RPA) nominated another candidate, such as Vigen Sargsyan.  "But Armenia's third president broke his promise, was nominated, and  was elected Prime Minister. People realized that this step could  perpetuate his grip on power indefinitely. It was precisely this  realization that stripped his administration of legitimacy and doomed  it to an inevitable collapse," Pashoyan explained.

According to him, the country is facing an almost identical situation  today. As Pashoyan pointed out, the Armenian Prime Minister is  essentially capitalizing on the limitless possibilities of that very  same "tailored suit" to perpetuate his power, leveraging the exact  same loophole. "He claims that he supposedly has the right to do so.  On paper, everything is correct once again, and the results of the  parliamentary elections, however contentious and questionable,  nevertheless appear to be accepted by all. But what happens now?  The  question arises: can Pashinyan pull off what Serzh Sargsyan failed to  do, and is he allowed to achieve what did not work out for Armenia's  third president?" the politician asked rhetorically.

According to Pashoyan, their personal position is clear: the  perpetuation of any individual's power cannot be permitted, nor can  the establishment of "Azerbaijani- or Belarusian-style regimes" in  Armenia. In his words, this is the shortest path to  authoritarianism—a path dominated by violence, injustice, the  degradation of the laws and the Constitution, corruption, and  ultimately, the dissolution of the state.  "Therefore, dear RPA  representatives, instead of resisting objective reality, set your  aggression aside for a moment and, for once in your lives, admit that  Serzh Sargsyan made a profound, fatal mistake. Admit it, and let us  move forward, clearing the political arena of this meaningless and  endless bickering between Armenia's second and third presidents,"  Pashoyan concluded.