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Parliament Majority In No Rush To Pick New Speaker


Armenia - Deputies from the ruling Republican Party at a parliament session.
Armenia - Deputies from the ruling Republican Party at a parliament session.

The Armenian parliament may not elect a new speaker before completing its tenure next spring, Galust Sahakian, the parliamentary leader of the ruling Republican Party (HHK), said on Thursday.


“Nothing should be ruled out,” Sahakian told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). “In any case, the parliament statutes allow us to work like this. That is why I don’t think it’s that important to us. Only several months are left [before the next parliamentary elections.]”

“Even if things remain as they are I think the National Assembly will work with the same procedures, the same principles and the same approaches,” said Sahakian.

The post of parliament speaker became vacant after its previous holder, Hovik Abrahamian, stepped down last week. One of his two deputies, fellow HHK member Samvel Nikoyan, took over as acting speaker.

The HHK, which is led by President Serzh Sarkisian and controls the majority of parliament seats, has since been in no rush to name a permanent replacement for Abrahamian.

The party’s governing body was scheduled to meet late on Thursday. According to Sahakian, the issue of new speaker will not be on the meeting’s agenda.

Abrahamian announced his intention to resign on November 2, saying that that Sarkisian offered him to manage the HHK campaign for the next parliamentary elections due in May. He dismissed media speculation that he was forced to quit because of being regarded as a backer of former President Robert Kocharian’s possible bid to return to power.
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