High-profile dismissals part of Armenian authorities` pre-election  strategy - opposition MP

ArmInfo.Tigran Abrahamyan, an MP from the opposition bloc With Honor, considers a series of high-profile dismissals in the Armenian government as part of the  authorities' pre-election strategy, which will allow them to update  their image. 

In addition, the resignations will allow "appointing those  responsible" for failures. On November 18, during parliamentary  briefings, Abrahamyan recalled that parliamentary elections are just  around the corner. "The authorities are trying to enter the political  arena with new faces and, to a certain extent, "package" old  problems. Even Nikol Pashinyan's change of external image, including  his decision to shave his beard, may be part of this strategy (the  prime minister grew a beard in 2018 during the protests in Armenia,  which subsequently brought him to power after the resignation of  then-prime minister Serzh Sargsyan - ed.).  Perhaps this is simply a  recommendation from his team to change his image," the  parliamentarian noted.

As for the dismissal of the heads of law enforcement agencies, the MP  recalled that since 2018, Pashinyan has formed one set of  expectations among the public - he promised to "lay everyone down on  the asphalt" and arrest all those responsible, but in reality, a  completely different situation has developed. Naturally, there was a  need to "appoint those responsible" for this. And since people are of  no value to Pashinyan, he is ready to sacrifice them.

"Those who served the interests of the authorities for years were no  longer needed. However, their departure does not relieve them of  responsibility for the actions committed during their tenure. The  time will come, and they will have to answer for their actions," the  MP emphasized.

Tigran Abrahamyan is convinced that the entire system is controlled  by one person - Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. "I do not rule out  that the security forces were given instructions that even they were  not able to fulfill in terms of public consequences and legal  liability. Perhaps this is what caused such a wave of resignations,"  the MP said.