SPEAKER OF ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT RESIGNS AND LEAVES RULING PARTY

Regnum
Sept 17 2008
Russia

Tigran Torosyan, the Speaker of the Armenian parliament, vice-chairman
of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) that is a member of the
ruling coalition declared on September 16, while speaking at a
press conference, announced he was going to resign and leave the
party. Torosyan justified his decision by "irresistible disagreements
with the majority in questions of domestic policy", informs a REGNUM
correspondent.

It is worth mentioning that on September 6, the executive council
of the Republican Party of Armenia made a decision to pronounce
inappropriate further work of Tigran Torosyan as the speaker of
the Armenian Parliament and nomination of Hovik Abrahamyan to the
parliament speaker’s post. The president of Armenia, chairman of RPA
Serzh Sargsyan commenting on the decision of the executive council of
the party, stressed on September, 12, that Hovik Abrahamyan can enhance
the role of the Armenian parliament, and at the same time underlined,
that the Republican Party, pursuing its main targets, started to
enhance the efficiency of the government machine on this stage.

Today, on September 16, a session of the council-board of RPA will take
place, where will be again discussed the decision of party’s executive
council about the change of the representative of the party on the
Parliament Speaker’s post, and the question will be voted. It is worth
mentioning that on September, 15 Galust Sahakyan, the vice-chairman of
the Republican Party of Armenia, member of RPA faction declared during
a press conference that the decision of the party was obligatory for
all its members and if anyone did not agree with the decision of the
majority, he must either leave or face disciplinary actions.

According to results of the elections on May 12, 2007, the Republican
Party of Armenia, obtaining the absolute majority got 65 from 131
mandates. RPA is a member of the ruling coalition together with parties
"Prosperous Armenia", "Dashnaktsutyun" and "Orinats Erkir". RPA is
represented in the government of Armenia by prime minister and five
ministers.