Minasian stepped down on October 1 a week after more than a dozen parliament deputies from Civil Contract signed a petition calling on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian to sack him. One of them, Arpi Davoyan, is understood to have initiated the signature collection.
Davoyan said shortly after Minasian’s exit that she believes the next justice minister should be a “member of our political team.” She went on to propose her candidacy for the vacant post.
The party’s governing board headed by Pashinian discussed it at a meeting late on Wednesday. A source privy to the meeting told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Thursday that only two board members, Defense Minister Suren Papikian and the party’s deputy chairman, Vahagn Aleksanian, backed Davoyan’s appointment. Three other senior party figures refused to be considered for the job.
Aleksanian did not deny that. “I can say that at the moment there is no candidate approved by the board,” he said without elaborating.
Meanwhile, Davoyan did not answer phone calls and could not be reached for comment. A school psychologist by education, the 39-year-old is a founding member of Civil Contract known for her strong loyalty to Pashinian. Another pro-government lawmaker, Hovik Aghazarian, revealed last week that Davoyan will graduate “soon” from the law department of an unnamed Armenian university.
The precise reason for the revolt against Minasian is still not clear. Some of his pro-government critics have said only that they are unhappy with his “staffing policy.” Others, including Aghazarian, have recalled the fact that his father Ara and brother Mikael fled Armenia in 2018 to avoid prosecution on corruption charges.
Mikael Minasian is a son-in-law of former President Serzh Sarkisian. He enjoyed considerable political and economic influence in the country during Sarkisian’s rule. Grigor Minasian claimed to have severed all contact with his fugitive relatives and pledged full allegiance to the current Armenian government long before his resignation.
Pashinian has still not publicly commented on the resignation or his possible choice of the next minister.