YEREVAN. - The eight deputies, from Tsarukyan Bloc who withdrew their statements on self-recusal and received mandates, cannot form a separate group in the National Assembly of Armenia.
Head of the Chair of Constitutional Law at the Yerevan State University (YSU), professor Gevorg Danielyan, who is also the member of the Specialized Commission on Constitutional Reforms adjunct to the President, told Armenian News – NEWS.am.
In his words, according to the NA Charter Law, they can leave Tsarukyan Bloc, but this doesn’t yet mean that they will have to withdraw their mandates. The members who left or were forced to leave the faction cannot form a group; they can act as independent deputies.
“According to the NA Charter law, the faction members can cease their participation in the faction. This can be done either by submitting a written application or announcing about this during an NA session.
The faction can also expel its members from its composition but for this purpose it should have a charter, which should be approved by the faction members. The expulsion procedure is approved according to that very charter. If the charter is approved, one or several members can be expelled form the faction,” Danielyan stressed.
Referring to the powers of the deputies who left or were expelled from a faction, Danielyan said: “If these persons have been elected an NA speaker of deputy speaker, they should leave their office after ending their faction membership. If they were elected for those posts not by the given faction, they can continue to hold their office.”
In case of being elected chairmen and deputy chairmen of NA standing committees, they should again quit their offices, since exclusively faction members are elected for them.
But if the member, who has been expelled or left the faction is an NA committee member, his membership is ended only in case the given faction appoints another candidate.
Earlier, twelve of the 23 Tsarukyan Bloc MPs, who had petitioned to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Armenia and for renouncing their parliamentary mandate, withdrew their respective petitions at the subsequent session of CEC on Wednesday.
