Armenia’s new Parliamentary Speaker and Vice-Speakers named
A new Parliamentary leadership is being formed following the 2 April parliamentary election in Armenia: the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) has already nominated Ara Babloyan for the National Assembly Speaker’s post – the ruling party spokesperson, Eduard Sharmazanov, told Armenian media outlets.
Ara Babloyan’s candidacy will be approved at the first session of the Parliament of the 6th convocation, today. Since the Republican Party enjoys the parliamentary majority, there is no doubt that he would be elected to this post.
Ara Babloyan is a pediatric physician. He is the Chairman of the Armenian Pediatric Association; a member of the European Society for Pediatric Urology, European Pediatric Surgeons’ Association, Swiss Society of Nephrology and the Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium. In 1990, he founded a specialized center of uronephrology and children’s surgery. He held the Healthcare minister’s post from 1991-1997. In 2002-2003, he headed the JSC. Republican Children’s Clinical Hospital.
Under the established statutory procedure, the government shall resign after the National Assembly’s first session.
According to the Armenian President, Serzh Sargsyan, Karen Karapetyan will be nominated for the Prime Minister’s post again. Karapetyan has already expressed readiness to chair the Cabinet.
Under the new Constitution, after the incumbent President’s term in office expires in 2018, the government shall resign again and a new government will be formed in accordance with the provisions of the new constitution. Whereas now, still under the old constitution, the President will appoint the Prime Minister with the consent of the parliamentary majority. The Head of Government, in turn, will appoint the ministers. The new government shall introduce its program within 20 days.
