Armenia’s new parliament convenes for maiden session

YEREVAN, August 2. /ARKA/. Armenia’s new parliament (the 8th since the country became independent from former Soviet Union in 1991), elected in the June 20 snap elections, has convened today for its maiden session. It began with a moment of silence in paying tribute to all those who were killed in the 44-day war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) last autumn.

According to the regulations, the first meeting is chaired by Knyaz Hasanov, the oldest MP who is from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party.

The National Assembly comprises the Civil Contract party, which won 53.91% of the votes (71 seats), the Hayastan (Armenia) bloc (29 seats), and the Pativ Unem (I have Honor) bloc (7 seats).

The parliament consists of 107 lawmakers, down from 132 in the previous parliament. The lawmakers will elect today a speaker and three vice-speakers.

The candidate for the position of speaker is Alen Simonyan from the Civil Contract party, who served in the previous parliament as deputy speaker.

Hakob Arshakyan (former minister of high-tech industry) and Ruben Rubinyan (former chairman of the standing committee of the National Assembly on foreign relations) are set to become two vice-speakers from the majority faction.

Opposition factions are going to nominate a single candidate for vice-speaker. The first meeting will consider a government-designed bill on changing the structure of the government. -0-