NEW NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CONVENES
By Astghik Bedevian, Ruzanna Khachatrian and Anna Saghabalian
Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
June 7 2007
The fourth National Assembly of independent Armenia began its first
session on Thursday with a collective oath of allegiance to Armenia’s
constitution.
The 131-member legislative body was greeted by President Robert
Kocharian, as well as Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II, who
gave his blessing to the newly elected parliament and said a prayer.
The ceremonial part was followed by the election of parliament
leadership in the absence of opposition lawmakers, including elected
deputies from ex-parliament speaker Artur Baghdasarian’s Orinats
Yerkir and ex-foreign minister Raffi Hovannisian-led Heritage party.
Hovannisian explained that the first session of the fourth National
Assembly was to have taken place the previous day pursuant to the
Constitution. He said that his Heritage party had not received, in a
manner reflective of the rule of law, due notice of that session or
any invitation.
Besides, he said, Heritage found it impossible to be present at any
parliament session until the Constitutional Court decided on the
validity of the parliamentary elections.
Both Heritage and Orinats Yerkir have not yet collected their
parliamentary mandates at the Central Election Commission. Orinats
Yerkir’s Hovannes Markarian said their party is also waiting for
the Court’s ruling due before June 10, but said they will pick their
mandates no matter what the final verdict is. "People trusted us in the
ballot and the mandates are a vote of public confidence," he explained.
Before the afternoon break, the sole nominee for the Speaker’s post,
Tigran Torosian, was installed in his former position due to the
overwhelming backing of his Republican Party (HHK) and its partners,
Prosperous Armenia (BHK) and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutyun), which effectively sealed a power-sharing deal the
previous day.
Deputies voted in a secret ballot by 112 to 2 to allow Torosian to
continue as parliament speaker, the post he has occupied since the
resignation of Orinats Yerkir leader Artur Baghdasarian about a
year ago.
The deputies also overwhelmingly appointed BHK’s Ishkhan Zakarian
and Dashnaktsutyun’s Vahan Hovannisian as deputy speakers.
The two coalition partners, HHK and BHK, as well as Dashnaktsutyun
that had sealed cooperation with them, shared between themselves
leadership posts in all the standing parliamentary committees.
The HHK will have leadership in five of the nine committees, including
the committee on education, science and culture, the committee on
finance and crediting, the committee on state and legal issues (to
be headed by ex-justice minister David Harutiunian), the committee on
economic issues (headed by former environment minister Vartan Ayvazian)
and the committee on health, environment protection and social issues.
The BHK will lead the committees on human rights protection and
public affairs and on European integration. And Dashnaktsutyun will
lead the foreign relations and defense committees.
Also today, President Robert Kocharian accepted the resignation of
the government, instructing its current members to continue in office
until the formation of the new cabinet. By another decree he appointed
Serzh Sarkisian Armenia’s prime minister.
By the Armenian constitution, a new government must be formed within
20 days after the appointment of the prime minister and it will have
20 days to submit its program of action to the National Assembly
for approval.
Under the coalition agreement between the HHK and the BHK and their
cooperation deal with Dashnaktsutyun, the president will have the
prerogative of naming and recalling the ministers of foreign affairs,
justice and defense. Dashnaktsutyun will have the same rights in
two ministries, including agriculture and education; the BHK will
have its ministers of health, urban development, youth and sport
(a ministry separated from the former ministry of culture). The HHK
will have its say in all the rest ministries.