Grigorian stepped down on January 23 after less than a year in office. She said she is planning to move on to another job.
Under Armenian law, Grigorian must be replaced by the Armenian parliament within three months from her resignation. Civil Contract, which controls the current National Assembly, missed on Friday the first legal deadline for nominating a new ombudsperson.
Lawmakers representing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s party declined to comment on the delay or reveal whom they want to be appointed to the vacant post. Some Armenian media outlets claimed last week that Tatevik Stepanian, a deputy minister of labor and social affairs, is the parliament majority’s likely choice of the new ombudswoman.
The two opposition blocs represented in the parliament have also not nominated anyone yet. Their leaders say they see no point in doing so because they believe their candidates would stand no chance of getting elected.
Taguhi Tovmasian, the chairwoman of the parliament committee on human rights affiliated with one of those blocs, disagreed with this stance.
“I think that the opposition must have an alternative candidate,” Tovmasian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service. “It doesn’t matter if that candidate could be elected or not.”
Opposition lawmakers voted against Grigorian when the parliament elected her in January 2022. They described her as a government loyalist who will not take serious action against human rights violations in the country.
Unlike her outspoken predecessor Arman Tatoyan, Grigorian rarely criticized the government and law-enforcement bodies during her tenure.