Ashot Danielyan elected as new parliament speaker of Artsakh

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ashot Danielyan has been elected the new Speaker of the National Assembly of Artsakh during an extraordinary session held on May 21.

Danielyan, a member of the Free Homeland faction, replaces David Ishkhanyan, who is currently imprisoned in Baku. The announcement was made by Metakse Hakobyan from the Justice faction, according to 168.am .

On the same day, the presidential term in Artsakh expired. Under the Constitution, until a new president is elected, presidential powers are transferred to the Speaker of the National Assembly.

"Our colleague David Ishkhanyan is currently in a Baku prison. Given this grave situation, it was evident that a deadlock had emerged, making it impossible for him to fulfill his duties. Therefore, it was urgently necessary to elect a new Speaker," Hakobyan stated. "We had been attempting to organize this process for quite some time. The Assembly had been largely non-functional due to internal challenges."

During the extraordinary session convened by members of parliament, Danielyan was elected as the new Speaker. Out of 33 MPs, 28 attended the session representing all factions; 4 were absent for valid reasons. Danielyan was elected unanimously by the 28 present members.

Hakobyan emphasized the significance of this appointment in restoring the parliament's functionality, addressing critical issues transparently, and raising the right of return on legal and political platforms.

On September 19, 2023, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale attack on Artsakh, subjecting the region to intense shelling. One day later, on September 20, Artsakh authorities accepted the Russian peacekeeping mission's ceasefire proposal and agreed to Baku’s conditions, which included disarmament and dissolution of the Republic. Forced displacement of over 100,000 residents to Armenia began on September 24, leaving only about 20 Armenians in Artsakh. On September 28, President Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree on dissolving Artsakh, effective January 1, 2024.