YEREVAN. – Ever since when it became known that the Armenian National Assembly’s (NA) current Deputy Speaker Samvel Nikoyan would become NA Speaker after current Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan’s official resignation next week, the political circles also began discussing the likely candidates for the new NA Deputy Speaker’s post, 168 Zham daily writes.  

“According to our information, the [ruling coalition’s Republican Party of Armenia] RPA elite are inclined toward [RPA female MP] Hermine Naghdalyan’s nomination, to show to the Europeans that Armenia’s ruling party preserves gender equality. (…) So, by making Naghdalyan become NA Deputy Speaker, the authorities would receive at least yet another ‘check mark’ within European organizations,” 168 Zham writes.