Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday announced snap polls to try defuse a political crisis that has disrupted the country since last year’s military defeat to Azerbaijan.
The embattled Pashinyan has faced calls to resign since November after signing a peace deal brokered by Russia which ended weeks of fighting for control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan.
Armenia’s military, struggled to hold ground it had controlled for three decades when clashes broke out against Azerbaijan’s better-equipped army in Nagorno-Karabakh in September.
Writing on his Facebook page, Pashinyan said Snap parliamentary elections would be held on June 20 saying a fresh vote will be the best way out of the current internal political crisis.
He said the decision came after talks with members of the opposition and President Armen Sarkisian. The announcement has been welcomed members of the opposition who have been leading mass protests against his rule.
Last month Pashinyan fired the country’s army chief accusing him of staging a coup after he called on the prime minister to resign. The incident sparked massive protests in the streets of the capital.
Meanwhile, Leader of the opposition Bright Armenia party, Edmon Marukyan said the decision to hold June elections was acceptable. The opposition will be pushing to make gains in parliament and shift Pashinyan’s large majority which currently holds 83 seats against the opposition’s 49.
Pashinyan has dismissed repeated calls from the opposition to stand down and insisted he handled the war correctly saying at the time he had no choice but to agree or see his country’s forces suffer even bigger losses.
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