The leadership of the National Assembly had to schedule such a debate last week after receiving a sufficient number of signatures of lawmakers representing the opposition Hayastan and Pativ Unem alliance. The latter drafted a resolution saying that Pashinian’s government must quit because it “has failed the defense, security and territorial integrity” of Armenia, left the country’s sovereignty “under immediate threat” and must be replaced by experienced professionals trusted by the public.
The opposition minority stopped short of attempting a vote of no confidence in the government, mindful of the ruling Civil Contract party’s control of the 107-member parliament. None of the 71 Civil Contract deputies has defected to the opposition camp as a result of the protests led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian. Nor did any of them show up for the scheduled session.
Only 34 opposition deputies were present on the parliament floor, meaning that the National Assembly predictably failed to make a quorum. Parliament speaker Alen Simonian defended the boycott, saying that the parliamentary majority “will not be serving the opposition agenda” because it believes that Pashinian’s government remains “legitimate.”
Meanwhile, thousands of Galstanian supporters again rallied outside the parliament building in Yerevan. The outspoken archbishop deplored the boycott but said he is not surprised by it. He pledged to continue to fight for Pashinian’s removal from power “with a new impetus, new methods and new faces.”
Galstanian said his protest movement backed by a wide range of opposition groups must become “more participatory, inclusive, vigorous, targeted and focused.” He put a brave face on his failure to topple Pashinian so far, saying that the movement is “dictating the agenda in our country” after holding the biggest demonstrations in Armenia since the 2018 “velvet revolution.”
“This is going to be our second half. We achieved serious success in the first half,” he said, comparing it to a football game.
The protest leader did not shed much light on his next moves. He said only that he will tour more regions of the country in the coming days and hold on Saturday a conference of youth groups and activists supporting him.
The opposition’s latest failure to make any difference in the National Assembly has rekindled calls for the 35 deputies from Hayastan and Pativ Unem blocs to give up their seats and thus undermine the legitimacy of the legislature controlled by Pashinian. Galstanian indicated on Monday that he believes the opposition lawmakers should not rush to do that at this stage.
“The time for that will definitely come,” he said without elaborating.
The antigovernment protests erupted in Armenia’s northern Tavush province in April after Pashinian announced his decision to cede several local border areas to Azerbaijan. Galstanian, who headed the Tavush diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church at the time, quickly emerged as their leader. After failing to scuttle the controversial land transfer, he shifted the protests to Yerevan where he first demanded Pashinian’s resignation during a massive rally on May 9.
Pashinian has alleged that foreign intelligence “agents” are involved in the protests. Some of his political allies have branded Galstanian, as a Russian spy. Galstanian and opposition leaders supporting him have laughed off such allegations.