Ruling faction in Armenia yet to decide on voting for Aram  Vardevanyan

ArmInfo. The ruling "Civil Contract" faction in the National Assembly of the RA has not yet finalized its decision regarding whether to vote for Aram  Vardevanyan, the opposition candidate for the position of third  Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.  This was announced to  journalists on August 7 by ruling faction MP Sisak Gabrielyan.

Recall, parliament had previously elected NA Speaker Ruben Rubinyan  and two vice speakers, Hayk Konjoryan and Vahagn Aleksanyan, who were  nominated by the Civil Contract faction. Under current legislation,  the third Deputy Speaker must be a representative of the opposition  party that secured the highest number of votes in the election,  representing the "Strong Armenia" faction.  According to Gabrielyan,  given the number of deputies registered for the debate on  Vardevanyan's candidacy, the vote is unlikely to take place today. A  total of 59 MPs from all three factions have signed up to speak, with  each allocated 10 minutes.

Addressing whether authorities might forgo their speeches due to the  absence of opposition deputies—who are scheduled to attend a court  hearing regarding the Catholicos of All Armenians starting at 3:00 PM  — Sisakyan responded negatively. He noted that only one session,  lasting an hour and a half, remains after 3:00 PM. "I think the vote  will take place tomorrow," the pro-government MP stated, adding that  the faction will likely reach a unified decision.

 "In any case, this seat is reserved for the opposition. Aram  Vardevanyan himself stated in his speech that he very much wants to  occupy the vice speaker's seat. I personally don't see any serious  grounds for claiming that the faction doesn't want Vardevanyan in  this position and prefers another opposition candidate. In all cases,  the decision must be made by the Civil Contract faction, and this  decision will be binding on all MPs from the ruling party," Sisak  Gabrielyan emphasized.