Artsakh to elect new president on Sept. 9; Samvel Babayan's bid rejected

The National Assembly of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) will hold a special sitting on Saturday, September 9, to elect a new president, its acting speaker, Gagik Baghunts, said in a statement.

Four Artsakh parliament factions, including Free Homeland-UCA, Justice, ARF and Democratic Party of Artsakh, have nominated acting State Minister Samvel Shahramanyan for the post.

The United Homeland faction nominated ex-Defense Minister Samvel Babayan as its candidate for president. However, its application was rejected since Babayan failed to provide a certificate of holding only Artsakh citizenship, as well as a certificate of permanent residence in Artsakh for the past ten years.

The position remained vacant after Arayik Harutyunyan stepped down on September 1.