It is not a draft, it is a requirement of the law, according to which, if the permissible amount of dishonorable absences of MPs is exceeded, the matter is put on the agenda. Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, Alen Simonyan, told this to reporters at the NA—and referring to the matter of stripping the opposition MPs of their parliamentary mandates.

"The [NA] session needs to conclude; we can talk about that in December. But I am sure that they will try to come (…) and ensure attendance in some way (...). At the end of the year, according to the data, the matter will enter the NA Council and a decision will be made," added the parliament speaker.

He noted that this problem comes from the rhetoric adopted by the opposition during the snap parliamentary elections last year, and later they also tried to bring a matter to the agenda, but it also failed.

"We have been constructive and have not stripped them of their mandates, although we could have sent the matter to the Constitutional Court. (…) [But] I am sure that next time our [ruling majority] faction [in the NA] will show a stricter attitude," Simonyan said, in particular.

However, he announced that they are ready to welcome the opposition lawmakers back to the NA Sessions’ Hall with applause.

"They have no alternative. They have appeared on the sidelines, and they have serious criticism and serious discussion inside. (...). If they do not return [to parliament] by the end of the year and the number of absences of specific [opposition] MPs exceeds the permissible limit, I am confident that the Constitutional Court will make the right decision that they will be replaced by those MPs who realize that the MP is there to work in the National Assembly," stated Alen Simonyan.

He added that the opposition is left alone in the street, they have no alternative, and therefore they should return to the legislature.