Aram Vardevanyan, a lawmaker from the Strong Armenia faction, has been elected Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.
“Of 105 lawmakers, 53 participated in the vote, and there were 53 votes in favor,” Lilit Minasyan, chair of the counting commission, said while announcing the results, Sputnik Armenia reports.
Arusyak Manavazyan, head of the National Assembly’s Civil Contract faction, had said that Civil Contract would ensure enough votes in favor of Vardevanyan for him to be elected Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.
Anna Grigoryan, head of the opposition Hayastan faction in the National Assembly, had earlier said that the entire faction would vote in favor of Vardevanyan’s candidacy.
Addressing Vardevanyan, Manavazyan said that he had been described as an advocate for justice and also as a devil’s advocate, while in reality he was a lawyer for wealthy clients, 1Lurer.am reports.
Responding to Hayastan faction leader Anna Grigoryan’s statement that Vardevanyan’s election was an obligation for Civil Contract rather than a gesture of goodwill, Manavazyan said the ruling faction was not obliged to vote for every candidate. According to her, they were simply respecting the Constitution, and that constituted a gesture of goodwill on their part.
