The opposition Bright Armenia party condemned the pro-government majority in the National Assembly on Tuesday for not electing one of its leaders as a deputy speaker of the parliament.
Deputies representing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s My Step alliance voted instead for a senior lawmaker from businessman Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK).
The Armenian constitution reserves one of the three posts of vice-speaker for a representative of the parliamentary opposition. Pashinian and his associates made clear last week that My Step will back the BHK candidate for the post, Vahe Enfiajian. They argued that the BHK is the second largest parliamentary force that controls 26 seats in the 132-member legislature, compared with 18 seats held by Bright Armenia.
Bright Armenia leaders dismissed that explanation, saying that the constitution says nothing about the size of an opposition faction nominating a vice-speaker. They hoped that many My Step deputies will back their party’s candidate, Mane Tandilian, in Tuesday’s parliament vote.
The parliament majority remained unconvinced, however. Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan said it will “respect” the results of the December 9 parliamentary elections in which the BHK finished a distant second.
Accordingly, only 19 parliamentarians voted for Tandilian, who served as labor minister in Pashinian’s cabinet until last month. The BHK’s Enfiajian was elected vice-speaker with 108 votes.
Edmon Marukian, Bright Armenia’s top leader described the vote results as “disgraceful.”
Also, Marukian hit out at the BHK during a debate that preceded the vote, prompting Tsarukian’s first-ever speech on the parliament floor.
“As long as we are not insulted or attacked we won’t say anything to anyone. But if someone tries to insult us I will respond to that with documents and video materials,” said the BHK leader.
Bright Armenia and the BHK traded bitter accusations following the December elections. In particular, Marukian said that Tsarukian should leave the political arena because of his extensive business interests. The tycoon has held a parliament seat for nearly 16 years but has rarely attended parliament sessions.
The two other newly elected vice-speakers, Lena Nazarian and Alen Simonian, are senior members of Pashinian’s bloc who actively participated in last spring’s “velvet revolution.”
Despite the controversy, the three factions reached consensus on who will chair the new parliament’s 11 standing committees. Mirzoyan announced that eight of them, including the committees on foreign relations, defense and economy, will be headed by My Step lawmakers.
BHK representatives will run two other panels, while the remaining post of committee chairperson was given to Bright Armenia.
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