On August 2, Nikol Pashinyan submitted a resignation statement from his position as Prime Minister of Armenia. On the same day, President Vaagn Khachaturyan signed a decree reappointing him. Formally — a change of power. In fact — a procedural formality that everyone following parliamentary republics in the post-Soviet space should understand.
Why resign just to return immediately
The matter lies in Armenia's constitutional mechanism. Article 149 of the Basic Law requires the president to "immediately" appoint as Prime Minister a candidate nominated by the parliamentary majority — but only after the new National Assembly begins its mandate. Pashinyan's Civil Contract party maintains control over parliament, so the formal resignation and re-nomination is a way to legally "renew" the government's legitimacy without actual elections or personnel rotation.
To appoint Nikol Pashinyan to the position of Prime Minister — states the text of the presidential decree.
Who actually makes the decisions
The President of Armenia in this system is a figure with limited powers. Khachaturyan's decree is not a manifestation of the head of state's political will, but the fulfillment of a direct constitutional requirement: if the parliamentary majority nominated a candidate, the president is obliged to appoint them. Real power remains in the hands of the party that controls the National Assembly, not in the office of the president.
Practical conclusion for those reading news about "resignations"
Similar procedural maneuvers occur regularly in parliamentary and semi-presidential republics — and confuse readers accustomed to resignations meaning the end of a political career. In Armenia, it is rather a legal ritual than a signal of crisis. The question that remains open: will this reappointment mean the continuation of Pashinyan's course toward normalization of relations with Azerbaijan, or will it become a pretext for a new round of internal tension on the eve of the next parliamentary elections.
