LIVE. Ararat Mirzoyan elected as Speaker of Parliament (video)
The 7th National Assembly of Armenia has commenced activities. The first session is chaired by MP Knyaz Hasanov, the most senior lawmaker among the 132 Members of Parliament. After this, Parliament touched upon the problem of setting up a Counting Committee. According to the regulation, 5 people in the committee must have "My Step", the "Bright Armenia" faction and the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) should have one each. Lilit Makunts took a 20-minute break on behalf of the faction to nominate candidates for the faction. After the break, the National Assembly approved the procedure for the formation of the Counting Committee and passed to the issue of the NA Speaker's election. Lilit Makunts announced that the "My Step" faction nominates Ararat Mirzoyan's candidacy. Mirzoyan delivered a speech, answered the questions of MPs, exchanged views on the issue. Vahagn Hovakimyan, Chairman of the Counting Committee, who for the first time delivered a speech from the NA tribune, wished everyone to have a productive work. Hovakimyan announced that the voting for the NA Speaker's election will be held today, 13-30-14-30, by secret ballot. ....... 131 MPs from 132 confirmed Ararat Mirzoyan's candidacy for Speaker of Parliament during a secret vote. Only one ballot was declared invalid. Mirzoyan served as First Deputy Prime Minister in the Pashinyan administration since spring of 2018.
