Based on the results of the elections held on June 7, the 9th convocation of the National Assembly began its work today:
According to the constitutional law "On the Regulations of the National Assembly", the first session of the newly elected National Assembly is convened on the day of the expiration of the powers of the previous convocation at 10:00.
The agenda of the first session of the new parliament includes questions about the establishment of a counting commission, the election of the Speaker of the National Assembly, the elections of three deputy speakers of the National Assembly, the establishment of permanent committees, the establishment of an Ethics Committee, the elections of the chairpersons of permanent committees, the discussion of a draft law on changes to the structure of the government proposed by the government, and the question of approving the government program.
Until the election of the parliament speaker, the session is chaired by the oldest deputy Knyaz Hasanov, who declared the session open. All three factions are present at the session, as well as the President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan:
The national anthem of Armenia was played, and then the president of the country delivered a speech:
"The public expectation is that the National Assembly is a place where different political views do not deepen the dividing lines but compete to offer the most useful solutions for the state. We need a political culture where disagreement does not turn into intolerance, and principledness never excludes mutual respect," Khachaturyan stated.
"In a healthy democracy, the government and the opposition serve the same goal — the progress of the Republic of Armenia," the president noted, emphasizing: "The challenges facing our country require a high awareness of state interests, foresight, and the ability to cooperate."
Although the regulations of the National Assembly also stipulate that the Catholicos of All Armenians and the president of the republic have the right to deliver a welcoming speech on the occasion of the opening of the first session, Garegin II was not present at the session — he was not invited: this is the first such case in the history of independent Armenia.
One of the three deputy speakers of the National Assembly and the chairpersons of four permanent committees are allocated to the opposition by law.
The ruling party, the Civil Contract of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, constitutes the majority in the new parliament, having received 64 out of 105 mandates. The second largest is the block "Strong Armenia", led by billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, which received 29 mandates. The National Assembly will have a 12-member faction led by the second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharian. However, two opposition leaders will not be in parliament — legislation prohibits Karapetyan from being in parliament, and Kocharian himself refused the mandate.
The leadership of the Civil Contract has elected Arusyak Manavazyan as the head of the faction, the "Strong Armenia" block — Narek Karapetyan, the "Armenia" block — Anna Grigoryan:
The leadership of the Civil Contract has nominated Rubens Rubinyan as a candidate for the position of Speaker of the National Assembly, candidates for deputy speakers — Hayk Konjoryan and Vahagn Aleksanyan. The ruling party's leadership has also selected candidates for the positions of chairpersons of 12 permanent committees. According to the Civil Contract's plan, if a candidate from the opposition becomes the chair of a committee, a representative from the Civil Contract will become the deputy chair in that same committee.
