I wanted to continue my work as the NA speaker, because being the longest-serving NA speaker in history, who served his entire term, I think that my five-year work should have been continued. But there is also a party and a board, and I have always noted: whatever the board will decide. Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, Alen Simonyan, noted this at a press briefing in the NA today, addressing the question of whether he is upset that the ruling Civil Contract party preferred that the speaker in the new parliament of Armenia should be another person, the current deputy speaker of the NA, Ruben Rubinyan.

“I abide by the decision of my [party] board and will not continue my work as the NA speaker. I do not have any upset as such, I think that the working process implies that there should be some changes. I suppose that at some phase, in some place I will be useful to our country, to our party. I have discussed with the prime minister, I have also spoken with the [party] board, I will not take the [parliamentary] mandate and will not come to the National Assembly as an MP,” Simonyan announced.

He noted that first of all he wants to rest a little. “This was a difficult year for me in terms of work. Don’t forget that this was a post-war National Assembly, a National Assembly that went through many challenges and difficult situations, and the work that I carried out together with my colleagues was really very difficult. I really want to rest a little. I also have a personal life, I also want to somehow finally settle my personal life, and I want you to miss me at some point and not tire people too much,” said Alen Simonyan.

He was also a candidate for the position of speaker of the new parliament of Armenia, but recently the ruling Civil Contract party's board approved not his candidacy, but that of the current deputy speaker of the National Assembly, Ruben Rubinyan.