The participation of the parliamentary opposition in the election of the President of Armenia would legitimize the process of the head of state becoming an attaché to the executive power—as it is happening today in the case of the parliament. Seyran Ohanyan, leader of the opposition "Armenia" Faction in the National Assembly and former defense minister of Armenia, told reporters about this on Wednesday.

He expressed a view that the President of Armenia should be non-partisan, whereas the sole presidential candidate—Vahagn Khachaturyan, the serving Minister of High-Tech Industry and the former mayor of the capital Yerevan—has been and remains a representative of the incumbent authorities until he is nominated as a member of a political party.

According to Ohanyan, the matter of non-participation was discussed in detail, and nothing has changed in this regard.

"The President [of Armenia] must play a balancing, consolidating role, whereas a person appointed by the political team cannot be impartial," Ohanyan said.

Evaluating the activities of fourth President Armen Sarkissian, he emphasized that the preceding president had not fulfilled his respective duties.

"According to the Constitution, he was the head of the state, and he had to lead the protocol procedures; [but] this norm was not always observed [by Sarkissian]," Seyran Ohanyan concluded.

As reported earlier, opposition of the National Assembly of Armenia—namely, the "Armenia" and the "With Honor" Factions—have boycotted the debates on the election of the new President of Armenia at Wednesday’s session of the legislature.