Armenian opposition MP hopes ruling party will lose power in next parliament

An opposition lawmaker has accused Armenia's ruling Civil Contract party of abusing its constitutional powers and undermining democratic norms.

Speaking at a parliament session on Monday, Artsvik Minasyan of the Hayastan faction said the parliament majority had, from the start of the latest parliament session, shown its intention to continue “illegal actions”, including denying the opposition its basic rights.

Minasyan said the majority routinely rejected opposition initiatives and claimed it had “renounced the Republic of Armenia, the Artsakh Republic and Armenian citizens”.

He also criticized the Civil Contract faction for attacking the opposition over their failure to review the report of a parliamentary commission into the 2020 war, arguing that many opposition MPs, including himself, were facing unlawful criminal proceedings that barred them from accessing the report.

Minasyan urged criticism to be directed instead at law enforcement agencies and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, whom he accused of attacking the Armenian Apostolic Church protected by the constitution.

“I hole that Civil Contract will not at least hold a majority in the next parliament so that the constitutional order can be restored in the country,” the MP added.