Armenia's ruling civil Contract party has nominated Minister of High-Tech Industries Vahagn Khachaturyan in the post of the country's President, parliament speaker Alen Simonyan said Tuesday, February 1.

According to Simonyan, such a decision was reached after lengthy discussions, maintaining that it's hard to name specific reasons for the choice.

"I think that we have chosen a very good candidate, who, with the road he has passed, his decency, corresponds very well to the presidential candidate, and will fulfill the responsibilities envisaged for the president very well," Simonyan said, according to Pastinfo.

Sominyan said his candidacy has been discussed too but he has withdrawn his name from the list 5-6 individuals being considered for the post. According to the Speaker of the Parliament, who temporary acts as head of state, the authorities do not expect the opposition to vote in favor of their candidate.

Also Tuesday, Simonian signed a protocol on the termination of the powers of President Armen Sarkissian. According to the country's Constitution, "in the event of removal from office of the President of the Republic, impossibility to exercise the powers thereby, resignation or death thereof, an extraordinary election of the President of the Republic shall be held not earlier than twenty-five and not later than thirty-five days after the office of the President of the Republic becomes vacant."