At a meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the opposition Bright Armenia faction was proposed to sign a memorandum of understanding, according to which the party would not nominate a candidate for prime minister after Pashinyan’s possible resignation, Bright Armenia leader Edmon Marukyan told a briefing at the parliament on Thursday.
However, the lawmaker said he rejected the proposal, reiterating the formation of a transitional government and his nomination as interim prime minister as his team’s priority.
No further discussions were held due to the absence of a consensus on the authorities' proposal, the MP added.
“Just because we demand the resignation of the prime minister and snap elections does not mean that we will not nominate our candidate for the post of prime minister. We have made it clear from the very beginning. The parliament has 132 members. The opposition MPs and those who have left My Step bloc make up almost 50 people, they [the ruling bloc] still hold 82 seats. Are they not sure about their faction’s decision, or do they think that there will be people who will vote for me? This is a different question,” he said.
"Either they have to admit that they don’t trust their team, or they have to resign smoothly," he said.
The opposition leader also said that he had proposed Pashinyan a "counter-memorandum", according to which, if the premiere resigns and Edmon Marukyan becomes the head of the caretaker government, he will resign on the day set in the memorandum and the parliament will be dissolved.
The “counter memorandum” proposed by Marukyan was rejected, the MP said.