In a new twist in Armenia, President Armen Sarkissian announced his resignation on Sunday January 23. Among the reasons that led him to leave his position, which is essentially ceremonial, he mentions the inability inherent in his position to ” to influence on the political life of his country.
Armen Sarkissian explains in a long press release published on the website of the presidency. the Armenian head of state makes the Constitution partly responsible for the problems facing the country:
” We are in a paradoxical situation where the president must be the guarantor of the state without having a real tool ” to act ” on important foreign and domestic policy processes in difficult times “. ” The president cannot influence matters of war or peace “, he laments, more than a year after the defeat of Armenia and the loss of territories in favor of Azerbaijan.
As a result of this war, relations between the President and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian have deteriorated sharply. Armen Sarkissian had in particular refused to sign the dismissal order of the army chief of staff.
In his message, the President, who was also prime minister and Ambassador to the United Kingdom, protests against a ” reality in which the president cannot veto laws, which he considers bad for the people and the country ” and expresses the hope that the Constitution will one day be amended for a better ” balance ” powers.
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