Vilen Gabrielian also took a dig at the party led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, saying that it is “in need of very serious healing.”
Gabrielian swore at Koryun Simonian of the Euromedia24.com news service and argued with other reporters during a municipal election held in Gyumri. He refused to apologize for his behavior when he visited the Armenian parliament on Monday.
“I consider the incidents, so to speak, with my participation in Gyumri last Sunday to be unbecoming of a deputy of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia,” he said in a statement issued the following day. “A deputy of the National Assembly is obliged not to display inappropriate behavior in their mission.”
“Accordingly, I publicly apologize to all of you and officially announce that I am resigning from the National Assembly,” added the 41-year-old lawmaker.
It was not clear whether Gabrielian’s decision was ordered by Pashinian or his political team. Unlike Armenian media associations and civil rights activists, Civil Contract’s leadership has not yet officially condemned his behavior.
The drunken scandal came as Pashinian’s party failed to win the tightly contested local election and looked set to lose control of Gyumri.
Gabrielian said in his statement that despite giving up his parliament seat he will stand in an upcoming election of the party’s governing board because he believes Civil Contract is “in need of very serious healing and transformation.” He did not elaborate.
During Sunday’s incident caught on cameras, Gabrielian also predicted regime change in Armenia in 2026. It is not clear whether he was joking or serious.
Artur Khachatrian, a senior opposition parliamentarian, speculated that Gabrielian was forced by the country’s leadership to resign because of that prediction, rather than his drunken behavior.
“They would have forgiven his behavior but not his statement that the government will change in 2026,” Khachatrian told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
Senior Civil Contract figures have downplayed the election setback in Gyumri, saying that their mayoral candidate, Sarik Minasian, got more votes than any of his opposition rivals. By contrast, Armenian opposition leaders say that the election outcome spells more trouble for Pashinian.