Opposition seeks ethics probe into ruling party MP

Armenia’s opposition Pativ Unem faction will push for the setup of an ad-hoc parliamentary ethics committee to investigate the conduct of ruling Civil Contract MP Artur Hovhannisyan.

In a social media post on Tuesday, Pativ Unem MP Tigran Abrahamyan said the move follows Hovhannisyan’s “unacceptable behavior and offensive remarks” about fellow MP Taguhi Tovmasyan.

The dispute erupted after Tovmasyan called on Speaker Alen Simonyan to require Hovhannisyan to undergo daily drug tests before entering the parliament, with results made public. In response, Hovhannisyan accused Tovmasyan of questionable wealth accumulation and suggested she should instead be tested daily for “sexually transmitted infections”.

Abrahamyan stressed that Hovhannisyan’s conduct violates the MP's code of conduct and must be formally addressed.