A ceremony for the handing over of mandates to the deputies of the ninth convocation of the National Assembly of Armenia took place on July 21 at the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Armenia. The new parliament was formed following the parliamentary elections held on June 7. CEC Chairman Vaagn Ovakimyan reported that five out of seven members attended the meeting, while two were absent for valid reasons.
During the meeting, two issues were discussed: the annulment of the registration of candidates who withdrew or refused their mandates after the extraordinary parliamentary elections on June 7, 2026, and the registration of deputies and the handing over of mandates. From the "Civil Contract" party, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, Health Minister Anait Avanesyan, Defense Minister Suren Papikyan, Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan, Justice Minister Srbuhi Galyan, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Arsen Torosyan, and several other representatives of the ruling party holding cabinet positions refused their mandates. From the "Strong Armenia" bloc, self-withdrawal statements were submitted by Goar Meloyan, Avetis Arakelyan, Lilia Shushanyan, Arthur Danielyan, Alexander Sargsyan, Taron Toflikyan, Arshavir Khachatryan, Davit Aivazyan, Robert Dilbaryan, Ovanes Eganian, and Semen Babayan. From the "Armenia" bloc, the leader of the political force, second president Robert Kocharian, refused the deputy mandate. Ovakimyan noted that the corresponding decision takes effect from the moment it is announced at the CEC meeting.
During the discussion of the self-withdrawals, a brief dispute occurred between the CEC chairman and candidate from the "Strong Armenia" bloc, Semen Babayan. In response to Ovakimyan's request to confirm the previously submitted statement, Babayan stated that he confirms all his statements regarding the self-withdrawal. However, a dispute arose between them as Babayan attempted to raise another issue unrelated to the agenda being discussed.
After the consideration of the self-withdrawals was completed, the chairman of the CEC read the list of candidates who received deputy mandates and entered the parliament according to the previously submitted party lists. At the end of the meeting, Ovakimyan announced that the first session of the National Assembly of Armenia of the ninth convocation will take place on August 2 at 10:00 AM. It should be noted that the mandates were distributed as follows: the "Civil Contract" party received 64 mandates, the "Strong Armenia" bloc received 29 mandates, and the "Armenia" bloc received 12 mandates.
