The Parliament of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic
The NKR parliament (National Assembly) is the highest legislative and representative body of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, Artsakh. The NKR Constitution and the NKR National Assembly’s by-law regulate its authority. The NKR National Assembly consists of 33 members of the parliament elected from 33 voting districts to five-year terms. All elections have been monitored by independent international observers.
The NKR National Assembly is a unicameral parliament of the Republic, which carries out its work in full sessions and through the standing and ad-hoc committees. There are six standing committees within the NKR National Assembly:
Standing Committees:
- Defense, Security, and Public Order
- Finance, Budget and Economic Management Affairs
- Foreign Affairs
- Production and Production Infrastructure
- Social Welfare Affairs
- State and Legal Affairs
The Standing Committees prepare and discuss bills, acts and issues which fall under the authority of the National Assembly and oversee their implementation. The President enacts all laws adopted by the National Assembly.
An extraordinary term or session of the National Assembly may be convened by the Chairman of the National Assembly, the President of the Republic, at the initiative at least one-third of the total number of members of the parliament or by the government in accordance with the agenda and timetable of the initiator.
The Chairman of the National Assembly is elected by the simple majority in a secret vote. On January 8, 1992, Arthur Mkrtichian was elected the first Chairman of the NKR Parliament (then called Supreme Council). After his tragic death in April 1992, Deputy Chairman Georgi Petrosian became the acting Chairman. On June 14, 1993, Petrosian was succeeded by Karen Baburian who maintained the chairmanship also after the 1995 Parliamentary Elections. In March 1996, Arthur Tovmasian was elected Chairman of the NKR National Assembly. On December 2, 1997, Chairman Tovmasian resigns and the majority elects Oleg Yessayan as Chairman (Speaker) of the NKR National Assembly. Yessayan gets re-elected to the post following the 2000 Parliamentary Elections. After 2005 Parliamentary Elections, Ashot Ghoulian is elected the Chairman of the NKR National Assembly. He was re-elected to this post after the 2010 Parliamentary Elections in NKR.
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