2nd LD: Armen Sarkissian elected as president of Armenia

YEREVAN, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The Armenian parliament elected Armen Sarkissian as the 4th president of the country Friday, according the country's state news agency Armenpress.

Armenpress said that 90 members of the parliament voted for Sarkissian, 10 voted against and one vote was invalid.

After the results were announced, Sarkissian vowed to devote his vast experience to serving the people of Armenia.

Sarkissian is elected for a period of seven years and will be sworn into office as a president on April 9.

In January, the ruling Republic Party of Armenia (RPA) nominated Armen Sarkissian, a former professor at Cambridge University and the Institute of Mathematics of London University.

Sarkissian is also a former prime minister who was in office briefly from November 1996 until March 1997.

Armenia has been transitioning from a direct presidential system to a parliamentary one after constitutional reforms approved in a national referendum in December 2015. The parliament can elect a president with a three-quarters majority

Under the new amendments, although recognized as the head of state, the president will hold a largely ceremonial role with real executive power lying in the hands of the prime minister.

The term of Armenia's current president Serzh Sargsyan will expire on April 9. Enditem.