Wednesday, August 30 2023 12:31

ArmInfo. David Ishkhanyan, the representative of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun party elected as the  speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh, intends to create an environment of tolerance in the republic not only in the political field, but also in society. He stated  on August 30 at a press conference in Stepanakert.

Answering the question about how the representative of the opposition  force, which has only three votes in parliament, succeeded,  Ishkhanyan noted that today Artsakh is not in a classic position when  it is the ruling faction that forms the leadership of the National  Assembly. <At first glance, it seems illogical when an opposition MP  became the Speaker of the Artsakh Parliament, and even representing a  faction of three MPs. But I should note that the procedure for my  election went through a difficult stage of meetings and  negotiations>, the speaker of the Artsakh parliament said, adding  that the initiator of the nomination was Artsakh President Arayik  Harutyunyan.

As Ishkhanyan noted, only after the consent of four out of five  factions was an agreement received to head the Artsakh parliament.  Speaker recalled that immediately after the 2020 war, the President  of Artsakh officially announced that from now on he is not a member  of the ruling Free Motherland party. For this reason, he considers  all factions of the National Assembly as his like-minded people,  whether they are oppositional forces or those in power. <The decision  was made by consensus, without which there would be no decision. Of  the five factions, only four united around the candidacy of the  speaker, but it cannot be said that another political force in the  person of the "United Motherland" party, headed by the ex-Minister of  Defense of Artsakh Samvel Babayan, objected. During personal  meetings, they gave their explanations, and it can be said that there  was mutual understanding with this force too," Ishkhanyan emphasized.   He noted that the country's parliament should make more active use of  the available opportunities within the framework of the current  Constitution. The expansion of powers should take place in accordance  with the legislation of the republic, including through  constitutional changes. There is currently a package of  constitutional amendments in circulation that MPs will refer to in  the future. But today, the speaker continued, it is necessary to  fully use the Pan-Armenian ties.