ArmInfo. The Republican Party of Armenia will take part in the extraordinary parliamentary elections: the official decision was made at the meeting of the Executive Body and the Council of the Party held yesterday.
At the meeting, there was also some shake-up in the party's leading body. Thus, instead of former prime minister Karen Karapetyan, former defense minister Vigen Sargsyan was elected first deputy chairman of the RPA, who will also head the proportional party list. RPA Chairman, former President Serzh Sargsyan and Karen Karapetyan will not participate in the elections. Sargsyan also admitted to party members that at the RPA congress, scheduled for 2019, he will resign and a new chairman will be elected.
There was also a change in the women's council of the party, instead of the former deputy speaker Hermine Naghdalyan, deputy Karine Achemyan will head it. However, first this post was offered to Deputy Speaker Arpine Hovhannisyan, but she refused from it.
The head of the youth wing of the party, 43-year-old Karen Avagyan, had to yield his seat in the executive body to the Director of the political school of the Republican Party of Armenia named after Andranik Margaryan, Hayk Mamamichyan.
The names that make up the top ten of the proportional list of the party are also known. The first number will be Vigen Sargsyan, followed by deputy speakers Eduard Sharmazanov and Arpine Hovhannisyan, the fourth in the list will be the former head of the National Security Service David Shahnazaryan, then deputy chairman Armen Ashotyan. Karine Achemyan and Hayk Mamamichyan will also be in the top ten.
As stated by the first deputy chairman of the RPA, Vigen Sargsyan, the party is ready for the snap elections. And the Deputy Speaker and part-time press secretary of the RPA, Eduard Sharmazanov, even said that the party claims the second place in parliament and 30% of the votes. Practically all the candidates included in the proportional list will compete in the rating system as well, except Arpine Hovhannisyan, who refused from this perspective.