Alen Simonyan Steps Down From Parliament After Speaker Term

Alen Simonyan, outgoing speaker of Armenia's National Assembly, announced he will not accept a parliamentary mandate in the newly elected legislature. Speaking at a press conference Thursday, Simonyan said he plans to step back from active politics to rest after five years as speaker—a full term he described as the first completed in Armenian history.

Simonyan said he discussed the decision with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the ruling Civil Contract party's governing board. Though he believed his work should have continued, he accepted the party's decision not to renominate him for speaker, emphasizing he harbors no resentment. He characterized his tenure as demanding, noting the parliament faced extraordinary challenges as Armenia's first elected legislature following the 2020 war. Simonyan said he has no current discussions about future political roles and does not envision participating in politics outside the Civil Contract party or separately from Pashinyan.