Armenian parliament fails to elect president in first round

Vaagn Khachaturyan, the only candidate for the president of Armenia, managed to win only 69 votes of MPs out of 81, after which the second round of voting was scheduled.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on January 23, Armen Sarkisyan announced his resignation from the post of the president of Armenia; he explained that he had become a "target for various political groups" and that he had no levers of influence on the domestic and foreign policies. On February 3, the ruling party nominated a candidate for the presidency, Vaagn Khachaturyan, the Minister of High-Tech Industry.

A total of 69 MPs have voted for Khachaturyan, the ruling party's nominee; and the opposition boycotted the vote. To be elected in the first round, 81 MPs' votes were needed, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.

Since the president was not elected in the first round, the second round of voting began in the parliament, the "Arka.am" has informed today.

According to the parliament's regulations, the second round of voting can be held immediately after the first round; however, the entire cycle of the presidential election must cope with the 35-day period as regulated by the Constitution, Tsovinar Khachatryan, the spokeswoman for the Armenian parliament, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 3, 2022 at 09:45 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.