Last week there were rumors saying that the ARF, a coalition party, was going to resign from the coalition, however they published information about their decision only yesterday.
Yesterday the ARF organized a press conference for this purpose, during which ARF board member Armen Rustamyan said that the reasons why they had decided to resign from the coalition were their disagreements with the president Serzh Sargsyan’s policy connected with the Armenian-Turkish relations and Karabakh issue. “Hence the ARF will be a new opposition format in the political environment of Armenia,” writes the ARF’s written statement. Yesterday a number of high rank officials from the ARF resigned. The mentioned officials are the ministers of education and science, social protection and agriculture, NA vice speaker Hrayr Karapetyan, ARF representative heads of NA standing commissions and others.
It is not clear yet who will be appointed in the mentioned positions and only several names of potential candidates are discussed now. For example, among potential candidates for the NA vice speaker’s position are RPA spokesperson and youth branch representative Edward Sharmazanov and member of Legal State party Hovhannes Margaryan. By the way, according to the same sources of information, if the latter is appointed vice speaker, Sharmazanov will be appointed either minister of education or minister of social protection. One of the mentioned two portfolios was given to the PA. The mentioned party has already decided that they will appoint Naira Zohrabyan in one of the mentioned ministers’ position whichever it is. The RPA will keep the agriculture minister’s portfolio. It is not clear yet who will be given the positions of the heads of the standing commissions on foreign affairs, defense and security. Certainly the ARF’s decision will serve a reason for certain changes in the political system of Armenia. However based on the ARF’s announcements it becomes clear that these changes in the political system will not change the conjunction of the government-opposition relationship. Armen Rustamyan openly said that they will not cooperate with the Armenian National Congress. It means that the ARF’s activities in the opposition will be limited with the Armenian-Turkish relations only. It does not mean that the ARF has resigned from the coalition on purpose (for example, in order to endorse the RPA as an opposition party during the upcoming mayoral elections in Yerevan). Thus, the ARF should be honest and announce that they will act as opposition only in terms of certain issues.