Alen Simonyan, a member of the ruling Civil Contract party who now serves as Armenia’s parliament speaker, today announced that he will not take a seat in the new legislature.

“I have discussed the issue with the prime minister, I will not take the mandate and will not come to the National Assembly," Simonyan told reporters today in Yerevan.

Simonyan’s announcement follows a decision by the Civil Contract board to approve the candidacy of current parliament deputy speaker Ruben Rubinyan for the post of speaker even though Simonyan wanted the job.

Simonyan denied rumors that he had been offered the post of president of the country, describing such reports as nonsense.

Simonyan, a close ally of Pashinyan, said that he has no intention of leaving the party and will continue to defend his team.

“I am closing this chapter with a clear conscience, and we will see what comes next,” Simonyan said, adding that for now he wants to “rest a little.”

“This was a post-war National Assembly that went through many challenges and difficult situations, and the work that I have carried out together with my colleagues was really very difficult,” Simonyan said.

Still, Simonyan made clear today that he is “not closing the door to politics.”