Strong Armenia is legally eligible for installing three committee chairpersons. All of its initial nominees for those jobs were rebuffed by the ruling Civil Contract party on Thursday following tense question-and-answer sessions on the parliament floor.
The opposition bloc, which finished second in the June 7 parliamentary elections, responded by deciding to pick other candidates. In particular, it nominated Lianna Manukian as chairwoman of the parliament committee on fiscal and budgetary affairs. Civil Contract provided enough votes for her election.
During a short debate that preceded the vote, Manukian came under less scrutiny by her pro-government colleagues than Strong Armenia’s previous candidate, Hayk Farmanian, did earlier this week. Civil Contract deputies said they are concerned about Farmanian’s background, rather than political affiliation.
The ruling party gave the same reason for rejecting the two other nominees. One of them, Arega Hovsepian, faced particularly hostile questions and criticism on Wednesday. Hovsepian, who is a vocal critic of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, said afterwards that she is relieved not to have been elected chairwoman of the parliament committee on European integration.
Strong Armenia nominated another candidate for that post as well. The National Assembly will vote on him later this month or early next.
The Hayastan alliance, the second opposition group represented in the parliament, had only one committee chairmanship reserved for it. Civil Contract did not block the election of its candidate, Lilit Galstian, on Thursday. Galstian will chair a parliament panel dealing with human rights.
Civil Contract’s control of the legislature means that the opposition committee chairs as well as deputy speaker Aram Vartevanian, a Strong Armenia member, will have little impact on laws passed by it.