What to expect at the RA NA first session  on August 2?

ArmInfo. The first session of the National Assembly of Armenia of the ninth convocation will take place on August 2 at 10:00 AM. It will be primarily devoted to the formation of the governing bodies of the new parliament.

Until the election of the parliamentary speaker, the session will be  chaired by the oldest member of parliament, Knyaz Hasanov. The  President of the Republic of Armenia and the Catholicos of All  Armenians have the right to deliver a welcoming speech at the opening  of the first session, but the Catholicos has not received an  invitation to the first session of the new parliament. Following the  welcoming speeches, the members will take the oath of office. The  updated oath reads, in part: "In the name of the longevity,  independence, sovereignty, and strengthening of the Republic of  Armenia, I swear to conscientiously fulfill my duties as a  representative of the people, to observe the Constitution and laws of  the Republic of Armenia, to contribute to the strengthening of  statehood and the protection of the interests of the Republic of  Armenia, to do everything for the sake of civic solidarity, the  security and well-being of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia,  and the protection of human rights and freedoms. Glory to the fallen,  and long live the Republic of Armenia!"

Following this, the presiding officer, based on the protocol of the  Central Electoral Commission, will officially announce the total  number of deputies of the new convocation, name the parties and blocs  that have formed political coalitions, and introduce the  parliamentarians by reading out the first and last name of each  deputy and the name of the political party that nominated them. The  deputies will then register.  One of the first organizational issues  will be the creation of a Counting Commission. Its composition will  be formed based on the proposals of parliamentary factions and  approved by a vote of deputies. Both the ruling party and the  opposition factions will be represented on the commission,  proportional to the number of their parliamentary mandates. The  Counting Commission will organize votes in the National Assembly and  tally the results of secret ballots. The commission's powers will  remain in effect for the entire term of the ninth convocation of  parliament.

After the Counting Commission is formed, deputies will proceed to  elect the Speaker of the National Assembly. The ruling Civil Contract  faction has nominated Ruben Rubinyan, who served as Vice Speaker in  the 8th convocation of parliament, for this position. Three vice  speakers will then be elected, two representing the ruling faction  and one representing the Strong Armenia bloc. Civil Contract has  already selected its candidates: Vahagn Aleksanyan and Hayk  Konjoryan. Lawyer Aram Vardevanyan is likely to be Strong Armenia's  candidate.

The agenda of the first session will also include the creation of  parliamentary standing committees and the election of their chairs.  Leadership positions in the committees will be distributed among  parliamentary parties according to the D'Hondt formula—proportionate  to the number of mandates they received.  According to the official  results, the Civil Contract party received 64 mandates, the Strong  Armenia bloc 29, and the Armenia bloc 12. Accordingly,  representatives of the Civil Contract party are expected to head nine  standing committees, the Strong Armenia bloc- two, and the Armenia  bloc- one. The Speaker of the National Assembly will also make a  statement on the formation of parliamentary factions, standing  committees, and the National Assembly Council.

If the government submits draft changes to the executive branch  structure to parliament by August 2, the document may also be  included in the agenda of the first session and considered. If no  such draft is submitted, the session's agenda will be primarily  limited to the formation of the governing bodies and standing  committees of the new parliament.

According to constitutional procedure, the parliamentary faction with  the majority of seats must decide on the candidate for prime minister  and submit it to the President of the Republic. The President then  appoints the prime minister. The appointed head of government must  form a cabinet of ministers within five days.  After the government  is formed, the prime minister is required to submit a five-year  government program to the National Assembly within 20 days.  Parliament is required to review the document and approve or reject  it by vote within seven days.