PARLIAMENT MAY NOT ELECT SPEAKER
Lragir.am
23 May 06
The Constitution provides for definite terms for election or
appointment of president or prime minister and government in case of
resignation, while there is not a similar provision for the speaker
of the National Assembly.
Hence, the National Assembly may not have a speaker till the end of
its term. This is not a purely theoretical suggestion, considering
that the majority tandem, the Republican Party and the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation together have 60 members of parliament. On
the other hand, we still remember the recent election of ombudsman,
when the coalition, which had three parties then, failed to elect an
ombudsman in the first round.
The former speaker may hand the powers of the speaker over to one
of the deputy speakers until the election of a new speaker. On the
other hand, the government must do everything to have the chair of
the speaker occupied as soon as possible. Because it is difficult
to bring the button-pushers to the hall of the National Assembly and
keep them there long. Besides, with autumn coming up, the members of
parliament are going to be busy preparing for the next election.