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49-531: The party emerged as the fifth largest party in the National Assembly of Armenia after its debut in the 2007 Armenian parliamentary elections . It won 6% of the popular vote and obtained 7 seats. Prior to the 2012 parliamentary election , some Free Democrats party members decided to run under the Heritage list. Following the election, Heritage won 5 seats with 86,998 votes, becoming the smallest faction within

98-533: A Deputy of the requirements not to be engaged in entrepreneurial activities, not to hold offices in state or commercial organizations, and not to perform other paid work except for scientific, pedagogical or creative work (1st Paragraph of the Article 65 of the Constitution). The committee also decides if there was a violation of 2nd Paragraph of the Article 6.1 of the mentioned law i.e. the very basic requirements to abide

147-550: A full Soviet republic . The governmental structure of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic was similar to that of the other Soviet republics. The highest executive and administrative organ of state power was the Council of Ministers. The Council consisted of the following positions: When Armenia regained its independence in 1991, the office of prime minister was reintroduced. Under the new 2015 constitution,

196-712: Is a common thing. Point 7 of rule 176 of the Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament states that "A committee of inquiry may contact the institutions or persons referred to in Article 3 of the Decision referred to in paragraph 2 with a view to holding a hearing or obtaining documents." Even though it was prescribed neither by the Constitution nor the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly that temporary committees have

245-451: Is a great tool for the parliament to exercise oversight and that is why according to articles 107 and 108 of the new Constitution there is a differentiation between temporary and inquiry committees. However, in late 2015, there was a concern relating to the powers of these committees as prescribed by the article 108 of the new Constitution. Edmon Marukyan , the only non-party Deputy of the National Assembly of Armenia, suggested an addendum to

294-533: Is stipulated by the Constitution some argue, that when withdrawal of oppositional MPs leads to violation of that rule the ruling party shall be forced to call new snap elections. This is however not a consensus opinion and probably shall be dealt with in Constitutional Court. Historically, significant share of cast votes (1995: 12.8%, 1999: 18.6%, 2003: 24.0%, 2007: 24.7%, 2012: 1.6%, 2017: 9.1%, 2018: 14.9%, 2021: 19.8%) fell below election threshold and

343-570: Is the head of government and most senior minister within the Armenian government , and is required by the constitution to "determine the main directions of policy of the Government, manage the activities of the Government and coordinate the work of the members of the Government." Also, according to the constitution, the prime minister heads the Security Council, which prescribes the main directions of

392-710: The 2013 Yerevan City Council elections as part of the Barev Yerevan alliance. Barev Yerevan consisted mostly of Heritage party members, in addition to a few members from the Democratic Way Party , the Democratic Homeland Party , and the Conservative Party . The alliance came in third place, winning 8.48% of the vote and gaining 6 seats in the Yerevan City Council . The party participated in

441-627: The 2018 Yerevan City Council elections , receiving just 0.75% of the popular vote, failing to win any seats in the Yerevan City Council. On 25 March 2021, Raffi Hovannisian met with the President of Armenia Armen Sarksyan to discuss the political situation in the country. On 1 April 2021, Heritage signed a joint declaration with four other political parties calling on the Government of Armenia to ensure free and fair upcoming elections, following

490-470: The Armenian parliamentary elections of 1919 , the National Assembly's membership increased again up to 80 deputies including several minority representatives. The Khorhurd continued to function with an overwhelming Dashnak majority through four Prime Ministers in the span of two years, until the Sovietisation of Armenia in 1920 . From 1938, the National Assembly of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic

539-1002: The Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie , the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe , the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly , and holds observer member status in the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly . 40°11′23″N 44°30′33″E  /  40.18972°N 44.50917°E  / 40.18972; 44.50917 Prime Minister of Armenia [REDACTED] CIS Member State [REDACTED] CoE Member State The prime minister of Armenia ( Armenian : Հայաստանի Հանրապետության վարչապետ , romanized :  Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan varch’apet )

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588-519: The Constitution of Armenia , Article 73 "If appropriate, interim committees may be established as prescribed by the law on the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly for preliminary discussion of certain draft laws or for submitting to the National Assembly opinions, statements on certain issues, events and facts". Following the consideration and definition in the Constitution the Law on Rules of Procedure of

637-1023: The NATO Parliamentary Assembly , the EU -Armenia Parliamentary Partnership Committee, the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy , the Inter-Parliamentary Union , the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation , the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization , the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe , the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly ,

686-738: The Parliament of Armenia (խորհրդարան, khorhrdaran ) is the legislative branch of the government of Armenia . The National Assembly was originally established in 1918 as the Khorhurd ( Armenian : Խորհուրդ ) by the Armenian National Council following their declaration of independence . Acting as the nation's provisional legislative body, the Armenian National Council tripled its membership, forming an interim coalition government composed of Dashnaks and Populists . Following

735-496: The semi-presidential system the powers of the Parliament will be enhanced, an example of this is the right of oversight of the executive power of the republic which is and will be exercised by the Government (as of article 85 of the current and article 145 the new Constitutions). So, the Parliament will have more powers and functions; therefore, it needs more tools to exercise these powers and perform its functions. An inquiry committee

784-419: The National Assembly clearly defines all the issues concerning the add hoc committees. More particularly, according to the article 22 of the mentioned law, add hoc committees are created by the decision of the National Assembly. The decision should contain information relating to the tasks, terms and procedures of an add hoc committee, meaning that the committee should operate only in very strict limitations set to

833-474: The National Assembly is Alen Simonyan . After electoral system amendments introduced in April 2021 members of parliament are elected only through closed party lists by party list proportional representation method. Four mandates are reserved for national minorities, provided they are included in corresponding section of party lists. Any top segment of a party list can not include over 70% of representatives of

882-462: The National Assembly, each faction has the right to nominate at least 1 Deputy to the ethics committee. The chairperson of the committee and the vice-chairperson are appointed from the members of the committee by the nomination of faction, although the Chairperson of the National Assembly is the one to appoint the chairperson of the ethics committee, the vice chairperson, and to approve other members. If

931-515: The National Assembly, with Zaruhi Postanjyan as its leader. Heritage participated in the 2017 Armenian parliamentary election as part of the ORO Alliance , however the alliance gained just 2.07% of the popular vote, winning no seats. The party decided not to participate in the 2018 Armenian parliamentary election or the 2021 Armenian parliamentary election . The party currently acts as an extra-parliamentary force. The party participated in

980-461: The National Assembly. By then, the suggestion received a positive feedback and the committee members stated that it could be approved on the constitutional level. However, the decision on the official proposal to the National Assembly was to include the addendum in the rules of procedure of the NA rather than in the Constitution. The international experience shows that giving such powers to inquiry committees

1029-680: The National Council of Armenia and was accountable for international, domestic and regional issues. The first Prime Minister became Hovhannes Katchaznouni whose cabinet was made up from five members, all of which were from ARF. In addition, a ministry of interior was created, whose first head was Aram Manukian . It vanished when the First Republic of Armenia was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and then transferred into

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1078-468: The accused Deputies the committee on ethics found them guilty of violating the duty to abide the laws. Also, in order to eliminate this kind of issues in the future, the committee made a suggestion to make supplements and changes in the Law of the Republic of Armenia on the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly more specifically consider voting instead for other Deputies disturbance of the order and enforce

1127-435: The chairperson of the ethics committee is from a non-opposition faction, the vice chairperson should be from the opposition faction and the vice versa. Factions have the right to change their representative in the ethics committee. According to the Article 24.2 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia on the Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly the ethics committee provides conclusion to the National Assembly on violation by

1176-450: The committee are closed except of cases when the Deputy in the application suggests holding an open sitting. Sitting of the committee is valid if at least half of the members are present, and the sitting is held by the chairperson of the committee, the vice chairperson, or another member according to the prescriptions of the law. Member of the committee assigned for the examination of the issue is

1225-414: The committee required information regarding its remit, if the information is not classified as secrets protected by law. All the other regulations concerning temporary and inquiry committee should be established by the Law on Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly. According to the latest Constitutional Reforms Armenia will have a parliamentary state governance system . This means that compared to

1274-517: The country's defense policy; thus, the prime minister is effectively the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Armenia . Nikol Pashinyan is the current prime minister. He took the office on 8 May 2018 following the resignation of Serzh Sargsyan . The office of prime minister was first established in 1918 with the foundation of the First Republic of Armenia . The prime minister chosen by

1323-457: The current add hoc committees of the National Assembly of Armenia is the Committee on Ethics. This is not a classical add hoc committee as it does exist during every session of the National Assembly but the committee functions till the beginning of the successive session when a new committee is formed. According to the Article 24.1 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia on the Rules of Procedure of

1372-472: The decisions and conclusions were adopted by the majority of votes, the committee had the right to require and obtain materials and documents relevant to the issues examined by the committee from any state agency; it can also demand to the state agencies with the exception of courts, judges and prosecutors to carry out checks, studies and expert examinations on the issues examined in the committee and so on. The committee presented its findings and conclusion during

1421-496: The demand, in order to acquaint facts of public interests to the National Assembly. 2. The National Assembly regulates the number of members of an inquiry committee. The places of the inquiry committees should be proportional to the number of faction's members. The chair of the committee should be the member of the parliament who presented a request. 3. If minimum one-quarter of an inquiry committee demands; state, local self-government bodies and officials are compelled to introduce to

1470-405: The ethics committee and other people participating in the activities of the committee cannot publicize details of the examination. One of the recent cases in this committee was an application indicating names of several Deputies and reporting that they voted instead for other Deputies during the voting. After examining the application, listening to the committee member appointed for the case and to

1519-411: The exception of courts, judges and prosecutors to carry out checks, studies and expert examinations on the issues examined in the committee. The members of the ethics committee are free to enter any state institution or to examine any document relating to the case. Any individual can apply to the committee on ethics in cases prescribed by the law. The applicant should submit a written application with all

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1568-515: The first round and no coalition with sufficient mandates is established within 6 days after the election results announcement a second round of elections will be carried out on 28th day of the first round voting. Two best-performing political forces are allowed to participate in the second round. All mandates received as per first round will be preserved. The party (or a newly formed coalition) which wins second round of elections will be given additional number of mandates to reach 54% of all seats (provided

1617-422: The laws, to respect moral norms of the society, to be respectful to the colleagues, not to be guided by personal interests and so on, provides a Deputy with conclusion if his/her job is scientific, pedagogical or creative and more. The Committee on Ethics can require and obtain materials and documents relevant to the issues examined by the committee from any state agency; it can also demand to the state agencies with

1666-461: The loss), examine the lawfulness of the accumulation of debt for natural gas during 2011–2013 and reasonableness of the amount of debt, to make predictions about the possibilities of alternative gas importers and other thoroughly listed issues relating to the gas supply system in Armenia as a whole including examination of prices for the gas and international practices. The committee hold closed sittings,

1715-404: The main reporter and the Deputy indicated in the application is the supplementary reporter. The decisions and conclusions of the committee are adopted by the majority of votes if more than half of the members participated in the voting. The content of the application and name of the Deputy indicated in the application are not publicly available until the adoption of the final decision. The members of

1764-438: The new Constitution, temporary committees may be developed only by the decision of the National Assembly to discuss certain draft laws and acts of the National Assembly and present views or statements connected to the National Assembly. Article 108 is about the inquiry committees of the National Assembly. 1. The inquiry committee should be formed if at least the twenty-five percent of the total number of parliamentarians present

1813-437: The newly formed coalition does not already have over 54% of mandates from the results of the first round). If any party or bloc wins over 2/3 of mandates sufficient additional mandates are distributed among all other political forces represented in the parliament to ensure that at least 1/3 of all seats are held by forces other than the winning one. Since the requirement of assignment of 1/3 of all mandates to non-ruling parties

1862-705: The on-going political unrest in Armenia. On 15 April 2021, the party signed a joint statement with eight other political parties calling on the President of Armenia to ensure democracy and the Constitution of Armenia is upheld in the country during the 2020–2021 Armenian protests . National Assembly of Armenia Opposition (36) [REDACTED] CIS Member State [REDACTED] CoE Member State The National Assembly of Armenia ( Armenian : Հայաստանի Հանրապետության Ազգային ժողով , Hayastani Hanrapetyut'yan Azgayin zhoghov or simply Ազգային ժողով, ԱԺ Azgayin Zhoghov , AZh ), also informally referred to as

1911-471: The point 3 of article 108. According to him, the addendum should prescribe that the inquiry committees should be empowered to demand state and local self-government body officials to be present in the sittings of the committees and provide relevant explanations. The improvement was suggested for the first time on 11 September 2015, during the session of the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs of

1960-402: The power to hold a hearing with the presence of state and local self-government body officials, there was such a case when the committee held a closed-door hearing. On 23 October 2008 with the order of the President of Armenia, a temporary committee of experts was formed on obtaining facts and evidence on the incidents of 1 March 2008. So as to gain the necessary information the committee was given

2009-481: The presiding officer to take immediate disciplinary measures against these Deputies that is depriving the Deputy from the right to be present during the session of the National Assembly. The National Assembly approved this suggestion. This committee was established in February 2014 to examine the protection level of natural gas consumers' interests (calories of supplied gas, testing gas usage counters, argumentations for

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2058-482: The prime minister is the most powerful and influential person in Armenian politics. The prime minister is appointed by the president of Armenia upon the vote of the National Assembly . The prime minister can be removed by a vote of no confidence in Parliament . In the constitutional referendum held in 2015, citizens voted in favor of transferring Armenia into a parliamentary republic . The Prime Minister's Staff has

2107-427: The relevant documents. By proposal of the chairperson of the ethics committee but no later than ten days the committee starts the examination of the issue raised in the application or rejects its examination. The committee on ethics finishes its examination of the issue in 30 days after starting an examination; it may also extend the deadline by 20 days in case of necessity to implement a deeper research. The sittings of

2156-441: The same sex. Parties need to pass 5% of votes and alliances (blocs) 7% threshold respectively to be included in mandate distribution. By law, parliament must have at least 3 political forces present, even if one or more of them did not pass the electoral threshold. In this case, the sheer percentage decides which party enters parliament, regardless of whether it is a party or a bloc. If neither party wins over 50% of mandates in

2205-696: The session of the National Assembly of 7 April 2015. The National Assembly of Armenia maintains various cooperation agreements with national parliaments around the world including the Parliament of Georgia , the National Assembly of France , the Parliament of Egypt , the Federal Assembly of Russia , the Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan , the People's Assembly of Syria , and the Parliament of Lebanon . The National Assembly of Armenia also holds membership in various international parliamentary organizations including

2254-491: The spheres of its investigation, the resources it may gain access to and also to the timeframes. The ultimate reason for existence of such committees is to deliver a report on its finding during a session of the National Assembly. Based on these reports, the Deputy may create a draft resolution in 2 days and if agreed by the Lead Committee, the resolution may be included in the draft agenda for upcoming four-day session. One of

2303-432: The tools typical to a real parliamentarian inquiry committee. Ad hoc committees are special temporary committees established by the decision of the National Assembly to discuss certain draft laws, or investigate certain issues, events or facts and to submit conclusions to the National Assembly. The aim of these committees is to draw attention to exceptional cases that are not covered by the standing committees. According to

2352-442: Was disregarded in mandate distribution. Current political representation in the National Assembly following the 2021 Armenian parliamentary election : The National Assembly has eleven standing committees: According to the new constitution of Armenia ( 2015 Constitutional Reforms ), the functions of committees previously defined as ad hoc committees are divided into temporary and inquiry committees. As stated in article 107 of

2401-512: Was referred to as the Supreme Council of Armenia . Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the adoption of the new Constitution of Armenia in 1995, the formation of the current National Assembly was established. The National Assembly is a unicameral body. The National Assembly consists of at least 101 seats, but with additional seats allocated, it may grow and reach to about 200 seats in extremely rare cases. The President of

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