When the Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia was elected on Aug. 2, the parliamentary opposition had nominated all two candidates. The secretary of the opposition "Armenia" Faction, Artsvik Minasyan, said this at Monday’s traditional briefings in the National Assembly.

Minasyan stated that the two candidates were Mkhitar Zakaryan and Artur Sargsyan, who are in custody. “Back then, we said that what is taking place in the National Assembly in the absence of our colleagues is unlawful and doesn’t correspond to the provisions of the Constitution and democratic values,” he said.

According to him, opposition MPs Armen Charchyan, Mkhitar Zakaryan and Artur Sargsyan were sent to prison unlawfully and that the relevant decision of the Constitutional Court attests to this.

The opposition, namely the “Armenia” Faction, has submitted a draft document demanding the resignation of Speaker of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan.