Samvel Karapetyan, a Russian-Armenian tycoon who is in a house arrest and charged for seizure of power and the overthrow of the constitutional order, has been nominated newly-created Strong Armenia party’s candidate for a prime minister.
The nomination is in contrast to Armenia’s Constitution, which stipulates that candidates for prime minister must exclusively hold Armenian citizenship and have lived in the country for the previous four years. Karapetyan does not meet any of these requirements. However, Strong Armenia party announced it will seek to amend the provision in the constitution through a National Assembly vote. Karapetyan was elected the party’s chairman on February 11 congress but did not attend the party’s event in person has was transferred to house arrest following his pre-trial detention since June.
“Strong Armenia first and foremost needs strong leadership. A new leader with managerial skills. A new, yet highly experienced leader. Our party’s candidate for prime minister is Samvel Karapetyan,” his nephew Narek Karapetyan said in a statement.
The possible amendment to the constitution would enable Karapetyan assume office if his party secures a majority in 7 June parliamentary elections. “Twenty days after the elections, at the first session of the [parliament], we will introduce a legislative amendment that allows any person holding only Armenian citizenship to become the Prime Minister of Armenia. By that time, Samvel Karapetyan will be solely an Armenian citizen,” Narek Karapetyan announced on Thursday.
Being one of Armenia’s richest men, Samvel Karapetyan has remained outside politics but gained recognition for his business empire and as a benefactor who sponsored the renovation of the Etchmiadzin Cathedral.
Comments
Leave a Reply
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *