2 yıl önce

Armenia elects new president Vahagn Khachaturyan

Former high-tech industry minister Vahagn Khachaturyan was elected as the fifth president of Armenia, receiving 71 votes in the second round of the parliamentary vote.

Armenia's parliament has elected high-tech industry minister Vahagn Khachaturyan as the country's new president, a figurehead role under the constitution, after his predecessor's surprise resignation in January.

Seventy-one MPs from the ruling Civil Contract party approved Khachaturyan's bid on Thursday for a seven-year term, in a vote boycotted by opposition parties as he was the sole candidate.

"Our region must become a platform for cooperation," Khachaturyan, 62, told lawmakers ahead of the vote.

"We must forge friendly relations with neighbours, live in peace and develop our country within the framework of this logic."

An economist by training, Khachaturyan served as the mayor of Armenia's capital Yerevan from 1996 to1998 before joining the board of directors in Armeconombank.

Last year, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan appointed him minister of the high-technology industry. He has no party affiliation.

Previously, he served as the mayor of Yerevan from 1992 to 1996 and was later elected as a deputy.

Mass anti-government protests

In 2020, Armenia fought and lost a war with neighbour Azerbaijan over the control of the long-disputed Karabakh region.

After a conflict that left more than 6,500 dead and ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire, Armenia ceded swathes of territory it had occupied for decades.

The outcome was seen as a national humiliation, sparking mass anti-government protests.

Khachaturyan's predecessor, Armen Sarkisian, stepped down on January 23, saying the limitations of his office left him unable to influence policy at times of national crisis.