Azatutyun — The 9th National Assembly, formed following the results of the June 7 elections, begins its work today. According to the Law on the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly, the first session starts at 10:00 AM on the day the term of the previous convocation expires.
The agenda is packed: lawmakers are set to elect the President of the National Assembly and three deputy speakers, form standing committees and the Ethics Committee, as well as discuss a bill on restructuring the government and approve the executive branch's program. Until the speaker is elected, the session will be chaired by the oldest member of parliament, Knyaz Hasanov. Notably, for the first time in the history of independent Armenia, the Catholicos of All Armenians has not received an invitation and, in all likelihood, will not be present at the opening.
The majority in the new parliament belongs to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Contract party, holding 64 seats. The Strong Armenia alliance follows with 29 seats, while the Hayastan alliance, led by Robert Kocharyan, will have 12 deputies. Although opposition leaders Samvel Karapetyan and Robert Kocharyan will not be entering parliament, the political forces have already determined their leadership; the factions will be headed by Arusyak Manavazyan, Narek Karapetyan, and Anna Grigoryan, respectively.
Civil Contract has nominated Ruben Rubinyan for the position of President of the National Assembly. The ruling party has also clarified its approach regarding standing committees, planning to appoint its own representatives to deputy chair positions in committees where an opposition member is elected as chair.
