The de facto sackings were widely construed as being part of Pashinian’s efforts to boost his flagging popularity before general elections expected in June 2026 or earlier. The ousted officials included Argishti Kyaramian, the head of the Investigative Committee.
Kyaramian came under fire from parliament deputies from Pashinian’s Civil Contract party last month after clashing with one of them during a parliamentary hearing in Yerevan. The 34-year-old lost his temper after the lawmaker, Hovik Aghazarian, accused the Investigative Committee of trying to bully citizens with unjustified arrests or threats of them.
The two men insulted each other and nearly came to blows on the parliament floor. Kyaramian’s behavior was denounced by two other Civil Contract deputies during the hearing. One of them, Narek Zeynalian, resigned from the National Assembly on Tuesday. In a written statement, he gave no reason for the move.
Multiple media outlets reported that Pashinian issued on Sunday night resignation orders to not only the six officials but also Aghazarian and Zeynalian. Some of them claimed that the prime minister was irked by their criticism of Kyaramian, who has been deemed, at least until now, one of his trusted lieutenants. Zeynalian refused to comment on those reports when he was approached by journalists several hours before announcing his resignation on Facebook.
For his part, Aghazarian insisted on Monday that he has no plans to leave the parliament. He said on Tuesday that he will wait until the Civil Contract leadership’s ongoing inquiry into his behavior during the clash with Kyaramian is over.
Meanwhile, it emerged that Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC) questioned Aghazarian later on Monday in a criminal investigation into Armenian businessmen exporting livestock to the United Arab Emirates. News reports said that the lawmaker was interrogated together with the businessmen and that the latter claimed he had demanded a bribe in return for helping to facilitate the exports.
Aghazarian did not confirm or deny the reports. He said only that he is a witness in the case at the moment. He denied suggestions that the case is being used to force him out of the parliament.