Armenian Parliament to maintain operational continuity regardless of  opposition stance

ArmInfo. Regardless of the opposition's position, the next convocation of the Armenian Parliament will continue to operate in its normal course.

Currently, under existing law, the National Assembly can only proceed to its  broader agenda once it has completed the election of deputy speakers  and committee chairs during its inaugural session.

The law mandates daily sessions until these positions are filled, a regulation that  risks allowing the entire legislative process to be held hostage by  the conduct of a single political faction. This was stated by Arusyak  Manavazyan, a deputy from the "Civil Contract" faction, as she  presented a draft amendment to the Law "On the Rules of Procedure of  the National Assembly" for its first reading.

According to Manavazyan, the purpose of the project is to ensure the  continuous and effective operation of the National Assembly's first  session, preventing cases where the process is unreasonably stalled  due to a failure to nominate candidates for specific roles.  Consequently, the deputies propose that if a faction entitled to  nominate a candidate fails to do so within the legally mandated  timeframe, the National Assembly will move on to the next item on the  agenda. The faction would, however, retain its right to put forward a  candidate at a later time in accordance with established legal  procedures. "The draft is based on the legal position established by  the Constitutional Court's decision of December 19, 2023, which  states that nominating candidates is not a discretionary right of a  faction, but a mandatory power derived from the Constitution. Failure  to exercise this power cannot be allowed to obstruct the parliament  from fulfilling its constitutional functions," the speaker stated.  She added that the draft will repeal parts 5 and 12 of Article 138 of  the law to bring it into compliance with the aforementioned  Constitutional Court ruling.

Manavazyan concluded that the adoption of this bill will ensure the  continuity of the National Assembly's first session, eliminate  unreasonable procedural delays, and preserve the right of the  parliamentary minority to nominate candidates in the future.