Vagharshak Hakobyan to decline parliamentary seat in newly elected National Assembly

Civil Contract lawmaker Vagharshak Hakobyan has announced that he will not take up a parliamentary seat in Armenia’s newly elected National Assembly following the June 7 parliamentary elections. In a Facebook post, Hakobyan said he had decided to relinquish his mandate in the 9th convocation of the National Assembly.

“I would like to inform you that at this stage of my life I have decided to continue my career in the private sector. To that end, I have submitted an application to resign my mandate as a member of the 9th convocation of the National Assembly, which will be officially filed with Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission tomorrow.

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia and leader of my political team, Nikol Pashinyan, who, following the 2018 revolution, restored to the citizens of Armenia their fundamental right to elect and be elected.

“Over these years, Armenia has become a more democratic, more sovereign and more independent country, and, most importantly, a peaceful state. I can proudly say that the National Assembly and the ruling Civil Contract faction, of which I have had the honour to be a member, have played an important role on that path.

“I would also like to note that this decision was made in coordination with the Prime Minister and the Board of the Civil Contract party. I remain a full member of the party and will continue to be actively involved in its activities, supporting my political team with my full potential,” Hakobyan wrote.

 Hakobyan is ranked 50th on the Civil Contract party’s electoral list.

Armenia held parliamentary elections on June 7. The newly elected 9th convocation of the National Assembly will comprise the Civil Contract party with 64 seats, the Strong Armenia alliance with 29 seats, and the Armenia alliance with 12 seats. Civil Contract will form the new government, while Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has previously said that the composition of the cabinet will not undergo major changes.