Armenia issues decision guaranteeing parliamentary representation for Assyrian community
YEREVAN — In a move representing official recognition of the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people in Armenia, and within the framework of granting them full electoral rights and political representation in parliament, the Armenian government has affirmed its guarantee of representation of the Assyrian community in the National Assembly.
Under Armenia’s constitutional law, the electoral list of a political party or alliance may include a second section containing representatives of national minorities with the largest number of permanent residents, based on the most recent census conducted prior to elections. Candidates from these minorities are permitted to enter the National Assembly without competing in the general vote.
The law provides representation for four recognized national minorities: Yezidis, numbering 31,079; Russians, numbering 14,076; Assyrians, numbering 2,755; and Kurds, numbering 1,663.
Accordingly, it is possible to include one representative from each of the four national minorities in the second section of an electoral list. If no representative of a specific minority is nominated, the corresponding seat remains vacant.
Assyrians in Armenia primarily reside in the village of Dimitrov in Ararat Province, the village of Nor Artagers in Armavir Province, and in Arzni, a resort village in Kotayk Province’s Hrazdan Valley. Arzni was founded by Assyrians on the ruins of a village bearing the same name after they arrived in eastern Armenia from Iran.
To this day, Assyrians in Armenia continue to speak their mother tongue of Syriac and preserve their culture and deep-rooted history.
The representation of the Assyrian people in the Armenian Parliament and National Assembly signifies their political and legal integration into the Armenian state. It grants this ancient community a voice in legislation and decision-making while ensuring the protection of their cultural and linguistic identity within a constitutional framework.
