Mane Tandilyan will be the Bright Armenia party and faction candidate for Vice Speaker of the National Assembly. Head of the party Edmon Marukyan spoke to Aravot about this.
There is information circulating that Prosperous Armenia and My Step have come to an agreement on the opposition Vice Speaker position. Prosperous Armenia member Vahe Enfiajyan will be the Vice Speaker. Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that it’s logical for someone from the other party that received the most votes to be in that position. The Prime Minister’s announcement and the political agreement with Prosperous Armenia did not cause Bright Armenia to feel constrained. Edmon Marukyan told Aravot in an interview that their decision cannot be influenced by any announcement. He considers Nikol Pashinyan’s announcement to be a tradition left over from the Republican Party, which should now be changed. “If the position of Vice Speaker should be given to a candidate from the opposition party that received the most votes, then that needs to be written in the constitution. However, the constitution simply states that a Vice Speaker needs to be chosen from the opposition parties. Therefore, there will be a vote, which is why we nominate Mane Tandilyan for the position,” Edmon Marukyan said, adding that if My Step decided to vote for Prosperous Armenia, then that is what needs to happen. “To say that it is logical to give the largest party that position is not an argument.” Marukyan considers Tandilyan to be the best candidate for the position, and he hopes that she will be elected.
Many were confused by Edmon Marukyan’s announcement that his party does not seek to remain the opposition for long. When asked if it is possible for Bright Armenia to form a coalition with the ruling party, he said, “It is a political thesis that every political party seeks to be the authority and that it does not wish to be the opposition forever. The opposition is the force that was unable to be the ruling force due to a lack of votes, but it continues to seek authority and expects, through its work, that it will be the ruling force or part of the ruling force in the next elections. I am surprised by how that can be confusing. If I said that we will always be the opposition and we do not seek to be the ruling force, then that would be anti-political and confusing.”
Nelly Grigoryan
