Armenian opposition to miss presidential reception

The Armenian oppositional figures have not received an invitation to Armenian President Vahagn Khachatryan's year-end reception scheduled for December 29, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Yerevan-based newspaper Hraparak.

"Naturally, we have not received an invitation," said Hayk Mamijanyan, head of the “I have honour" faction.

No one in (former Armenian president Robert) Kocharyan's Armenia bloc has received an invitation either. But the MPs from the ruling Civil Contract party confirmed that they had been invited.

In the past, invitations to the president's reception in Armenian were used to be extended not only to the opposition but also to public figures and even representatives of opposition-minded media outlets, says the report.

The newspaper concludes by citing a provision in the Constitution which states that an Armenian president is obliged to be impartial in the exercise of his powers and to be guided solely by the national interest.

"Meanwhile, today we not only have a super-premier with unlimited powers but also a president serving the interests of one party," Hraparak writes.