Armen Sarkissian is the New President of Armenia
Armen Sarkissian was elected as President of Armenia on Friday with a large majority of the members of parliament, Reuters and TASS reported.
The candidacy of the 64-year-old former prime minister and former ambassador to the UK was backed by 90 lawmakers at ten against and one abstention in the 105-seat legislative assembly. Armen Sarkissian will be head of state for seven years. He holds the seat of former President Sergey Sarkissian, who, according to opposition leaders, may remain in office as prime minister.
The new president was elected as a candidate by the ruling Republican Armenian Party and its coalition partner Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dasnauktsutun. Armen Sarkissian was supported by the center-right Tsarukyan. After a constitutional reform, Armenia switched to a parliamentary form of government. The head of state has limited authority and is elected by the National Assembly.