Controversial military service bill pulled from Armenian parliament agenda

A scheduled emergency session of Armenia’s National Assembly Standing Committee on Defense and Security was abruptly canceled on Monday. The meeting was set to discuss a controversial bill allowing conscripts to shorten their mandatory military service in exchange for large payments to the state budget.

Deputy Committee Chair Armen Khachatryan announced the cancellation, citing the need for additional discussions regarding the draft law. He said the bill would return to the agenda after further deliberation.

The move drew criticism from opposition MP Gegham Manukyan of the Hayastan faction, who noted the session was canceled just two minutes before it was due to begin despite the defense minister being present in the parliament.

Manukyan claimed the ruling Civil Contract party feared a negative committee vote and was responding to public backlash, including criticism from civic activists and the human rights defender.

The bill drafted by Civil Contract MP Hayk Sargsyan would allow conscripts to shorten their mandatory two-year military service to six months by paying $38,000 to the state budget, or to just one month by paying $51,000.