I Will Double My Efforts in New Status: Sergey Bagratyan Leaves BHK

Member of the National Assembly from the Prosperous Armenia faction, Sergey Bagratyan, announced on his Facebook page that he is leaving the faction.

“Dear compatriots, on July 23 of this year, I applied to the President of the National Assembly and the Chairman of the BHK faction to state that I am exiting from the BHK faction and consequently will act as an independent member of parliament. The reason for leaving is that for a long time my political stance has significantly differed from the content of the decisions and key statements adopted by the BHK political council, and I have repeatedly expressed my disagreements and objections prior to key announcements.

I have fought for many years for the establishment of the values proclaimed by New Armenia, and I will continue to fight. The establishment of a strong state, a society without violence, and the paramount values of human rights are the aspirations that have accompanied me and will always accompany me. Political entities are temporary; the state is eternal. My activities have been and will increasingly be aimed at strengthening the Armenian statehood.

I am almost convinced that all political entities at least accept these approaches, but their paths to achieving them differ. This is where my perspectives diverge from the BHK's guidelines.

Regarding the resignation of the mandate: according to Article 94 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, a member of parliament represents the entire nation, is not bound by a mandatory mandate, and is guided by his conscience and beliefs. It is explicitly stated that it is for the entire nation, not any political entity.

As for my work during my tenure as a member of parliament: my activity indicators are recorded on the parliamentmonitoring website, where I occupy the 2nd position among 132 deputies in terms of speeches delivered, with 196 speeches and questions; I have initiated 19 legislative initiatives, etc. I ask that this not be regarded as immodesty, but these figures also confirm my right to continue working in the National Assembly.

In my new status, I will double my efforts and dedicate my knowledge and experience to the strengthening of my wonderful homeland and Statehood, serving the best interests of the Armenian people. I express my gratitude to my colleagues in BHK for our joint work. Stay healthy, and we will meet soon…”