Alen Simonyan says he will not take seat in new legislature

Armenian National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan says he will not take up a parliament seat in the next legislature.

“I wanted to continue serving, but there is a party, there is a board, and I follow its decision,” Simonyan told reporters on Thursday. “I will not continue as parliament speaker.”

Simonyan emphasized he was not leaving due to frustration. “The work process requires changes. At some stage, in some place, I will be useful to the country and my party,” he said, adding he had discussed the matter with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

“I want to rest a little. This was a heavy, post-war parliament,” Simonyan noted.

Following the June 7 elections, the ruling Civil Contract party has nominated Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan as its candidate to lead the next parliament.