ARMENIAN PARLIAMENT SPEAKER VIEWS HIS REPLACEMENT AS PREMEDITATED MOVE
Trend News Agency
Sept 17 2008
Azerbaijan
Tigran Torosyan, who resigned as National Assembly Speaker and quitted
his membership in Republican Party of Armenia on Tuesday, says his
step was motivated by confrontation within the party, reported ARKA.
He said he sees no way out of the situation. "I have repeatedly tried
to overcome this confrontation, but failed", Torosyan said at a news
conference on Tuesday.
He told journalists that he was ousted from this position in a
clear breach of competition and moral principles. He said it was a
well-though-out move.
"It is absolutely obvious to me that it was a premeditated action that
pursued one mere purpose. Behind-the-scenes intrigues and unprecedented
four-month propaganda campaign prepared this move", Torosyan said.
Torosyan said that he will quit the party’s faction, but retain his
membership in National Assembly.
He said that his resignation will take force only in five days after
announcement at the next four-day parliamentary session.
On September 6, Republican Party of Armenia put up the candidacy of
former head of presidential staff Hovik Abrahamyan, who took a seat
in National Assembly recently by winning by-election, to the post of
parliament speaker, the press office of the party reports.
The party board considered the reasonability of Parliament Speaker
Tigran Torosyan’s further staying in office and decided to replace
him by the new candidate.
Rumors about the resignation were going around in recent months,
but Torosyan has repeatedly denied them.
In the beginning of this summer, Hovik Abrahamyan filled the seat of
his brother Henrik Abrahamyan, who quitted his membership in National
Assembly for running Artashat Wine Company.
Earlier, Armenian Republican Party’s fellow coalition members –
Prosperous Armenia, Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun
and Orinats Yerkir – said that the speaker replacement is strictly
internal matter of Republican Party.