Armenian Lawmakers Elect Former Minister Khachatrian As President

Armenian lawmakers have elected Vahagn Khachatrian as the country's new president following the sudden resignation of Armen Sarkisian in January.

The former minister of high-tech industry won 71 votes in the second round of balloting among lawmakers on March 3, seven more than needed despite a boycott of the vote by opposition factions.

Though he has no party affiliation, Khachatrian was supported by deputies from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's ruling Civil Contract party.

"You are assuming the post of the president of the republic at a crucial time for the future of Armenia, when we are in a difficult period of regional and international challenges," Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian said in a congratulatory message to the 62-year-old Khachatrian.

Sarkisian abruptly stepped down on January 23, citing a lack of power to influence policy during times of national crisis.

He had been critical of Pashinian over a number of issues, especially during the fallout from a six-week war with Azerbaijan in 2020 over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region that ended with a Russian-brokered peace deal.

Armenian forces lost control over large parts of the region and surrounding districts, while Azerbaijan was able to recapture territory lost in an early 1990s separatist conflict.

Sarkisian criticized being left out of negotiations to end the war and later objected when Pashinian fired Armenia's military leaders amid anti-government protests.

Under the constitution, Armenia is a parliamentary republic where the head of the executive is prime minister, while the role of president is primarily ceremonial.

Khachatrian, Armenia's fifth president since it regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, is a trained economist who served as the mayor of the capital, Yerevan, from 1996 to 1998. Afterward he joined the board of directors in Armeconombank.

Last year, Pashinian appointed him minister of high-technology industry.