ARMENIAN RULING PARTY TO CONSIDER REPLACING PARLIAMENT SPEAKER

Mediamax
Sept 15 2008
Armenia

Yerevan, 15 September: Council of the ruling Republican Party of
Armenia (RPA) will consider the decision of the party’s executive
body tomorrow on inexpediency of further tenure of the parliament
Speaker’s office by Tigran Torosyan and on nominating former Head of
the President’s Administration Hovik Abramyan for the given position.

As the Deputy Chairman of RPA Galust Sahakyan stated in Yerevan today,
the decision to substitute the Speaker is caused by the "necessity
to change the strategy of the legislative body, stirring up political
debates and consolidating relations with the people".

Galust Sahakyan stressed that RPA has the majority of seats in the
parliament and has the right to independently make decisions on staff
issues within the framework of the mandates for leading positions,
gained within under the coalition agreement.

"I do not know in which sphere Tigran Torosyan will work later on
in case of his resignation, but I think that his experience will be
useful in working with European structures," Galust Sahakyan stated,
commenting on the recent statements of the Armenian President on
"inexpediency of Tigran Torosyan’s work in another sphere".

Galust Sahakyan refuted the rumors, spread in oppositional media,
on the possible split in RPA and the return of Ex-President Robert
Kocharyan to big politics as the Prime Minister of Armenia. "I do
not see any perquisites for that," he stated.