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Armenian speaker signs president’s resignation upon expiry of seven-day term

On Sunday, the online version of the Armenian Times newspaper reported that the ruling Civil Contract party made a decision to nominate current Minister of Hi-Tech Industry, former Yerevan mayor Vahagn Khachatryan as the country’s president

YEREVAN, February 1. /TASS/. On Tuesday morning, upon the end of the seven-day term condition, Speaker of Armenia’s Parliament Alen Simonyan signed the resignation of President Armen Sargsyan submitted on January 23. The corresponding document was published on the parliament’s website.

"Based on the letter of resignation from the President of the Republic and being guided by Article 142 of the constitution and the requirements of clause 2, part 1 of Article 147 of the regulations of the National Assembly (parliament - TASS), [I hereby decree] to consider the authority of the Republic’s President Armen Sargsyan to be terminated," the statement said.

On Sunday, the online version of the Armenian Times newspaper which belongs to the family of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan reported that the ruling Civil Contract party made a decision to nominate current Minister of Hi-Tech Industry, former Yerevan mayor Vahagn Khachatryan as the country’s president. At a briefing on Monday, Khachatryan declined to comment on media publications and urged to wait until the official termination of Sargsyan’s duties. Khachatryan was appointed to head the hi-tech ministry in August 2021. He is an economist and served as the mayor of Yerevan in 1992-1996.

According to the country’s constitution, the parliament’s speaker must serve as the interim president until a new president is elected. The new election should be held no earlier than after 25 days and no later than 35 days after the resignation of the head of the republic is accepted. Since Armenia is a parliamentary republic, the president is elected by the parliament for a seven-year term. Parliamentary factions present their nominations. The current parliament formed following the June 20, 2021 extraordinary election, consists of 107 legislators. Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party has the majority of seats (71 mandates), while the opposition Armenia and I Have Honor parties have 29 and six seats, respectively.

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