Armenia's United Opposition Requests Urgent Meeting With President

YEREVAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 02nd March, 2021) The united Armenian opposition parties on Tuesday requested an urgent meeting with President Armen Sarkissian after he decided not to sign a decree on the dismissal of General Staff Chief Onik Gasparyan and did not send the draft decree to the Constitutional Court.

According to the constitution, the president can return a decree with his objections to the prime minister, who has requested a dismissal of a high-ranking military official, within three days. If the head of government does not accept these objections, then the president must sign the relevant decree or turn to the Constitutional Court. If the president does not fulfill these requirements, the relevant decree will enter into force automatically.

The Homeland Salvation Movement, which unites 20 political forces and calls on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign, said that the president's decision is "extremely concerning."

"In the statement, the head of the country [Sarkissian] bypasses the issue of appealing the relevant decision of Nikol Pashinyan [on the dismissal of Gasparyan] In the Constitutional Court. Based on the above, representatives of the Homeland Salvation Movement demand an urgent meeting with the president," the opposition forces said in a statement.