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Akbar Novruz

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Armenia's 9th National Assembly convened its first session on Saturday amid political tensions, as opposition lawmakers protested the absence of Catholicos Karekin II, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, AzerNEWS reports via Sputnik Armenia.

Opposition factions expressed outrage that the Catholicos had not been invited to attend the opening session, arguing that his exclusion violated parliamentary regulations. In protest, opposition MPs refused to take the parliamentary oath.

The session also marked the constitutional resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government. In accordance with Armenia's Constitution, the government resigns on the first day of the inaugural session of a newly elected parliament.

Pashinyan announced his resignation in a video message and signed the corresponding appeal to the president. Under the Constitution, the outgoing cabinet will continue serving in a caretaker capacity until a new government is formed.

The president is expected to appoint a prime minister based on the nomination of the ruling parliamentary faction.

Meanwhile, opposition lawmaker Artur Sargsyan was absent from the opening session because he remains under house arrest.

Speaking during the session, Gegham Manukyan of the Armenia faction described the case against Sargsyan as politically motivated, arguing that the court had prevented him from attending despite a ruling by the Constitutional Court.

Addressing the session's chair, Prince Hasanov—the oldest member of parliament—Manukyan said Hasanov, as a representative of Armenia's Kurdish community, should understand the implications of political imprisonment. He also referred to the imprisonment of Kurdish political figures in Türkiye while criticizing the court's decision regarding Sargsyan.