The 53-year-old lawmaker, Gegham Nazarian, became an outspoken critic of Pashinian following the 2020 war in Nagorno-Karabakh in which his son fought and died.
“Nikol brought about the war and must first and foremost be held accountable for our fallen children,” he declared during one of the anti-government demonstrations held in the wake of the disastrous war.
Nazarian softened his antigovernment rhetoric after being elected to the Armenian parliament on the Hayastan ticket in 2021, triggering allegations of secret collaboration with Pashinian’s political team. In particular, he declared that he has “forgiven” Pashinian and believes the latter is not solely responsible for the war and Armenia’s defeat in it.
Nazarian’s recent remark that Hayastan has no regime change “agenda” was the final straw for Armenia’s largest opposition group headed by former President Robert Kocharian.
“The positions of parliament deputy Gegham Nazarian have differed from the political course and priorities of the faction lately,” read a Hayastan statement released over the weekend. “In this situation, Gegham Nazarian's further activities within the faction are becoming impossible.”
The statement said he has agreed to leave the bloc’s parliamentary group. Nazarian on Monday confirmed this while making clear that he will not give up his parliament seat and will carry on instead as an “independent” deputy.
Nazarian also denied that his statements and actions were at odds with Hayastan’s political stances. He claimed to remain in opposition to Pashinian’s government.
Nazarian’s exit reduced to 28 the number of Hayastan’s seats in the 107-member National Assembly. Pashinian’s Civil Contract party controls at least 71 seats.