Pashinyan expects MP Hovik Agazaryan to resign his mandate at his request

YEREVAN, November 23. /ARKA/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expects that MP Hovik Agazaryan will honor his request and resign his mandate.

On November 19, Narek Zeynalyan, an MP from the ruling ‘’Civil Contract’’ faction, announced his resignation. Hovik Agazaryan, an MP from the ruling ‘’Civil Contract’’ party, who recently had an argument in parliament with the head of the Investigative Committee of Armenia Argishti Kyaramyan (who has since been dismissed - ed.), stated that he does not intend to resign his mandate.

"A number of public events that took place in parliament, particularly during the parliamentary hearings, are directly related to the context of the resignation requests. I think that what happened in parliament is unacceptable from a systemic standpoint. Given the need to preserve our institutions, it would be wrong to leave this unaddressed, no matter how much I respect all the colleagues who participated in these processes," Pashinyan said in an interview with the Public Television of Armenia.

At the same time, he confirmed that Narek Zeynalyan resigned at his request, just as Argishti Kyaramyan, the head of the Investigative Committee, also resigned.

According to him, he made a similar request to Hovik Agazaryan.

"I expect that my request will not go unanswered. The problem is not personal, but systemic. We need to reconsider our approaches, attitudes, and perceptions towards our state institutions in a specific way. And this concerns all of us," the prime minister noted.

During a heated exchange at the parliamentary hearings on October 16, Agazaryan accused Kyaramyan of pressuring businessmen and abusing the powers of the Investigative Committee to ‘’destroy’’ emerging entrepreneurs. It is presumed that among them is Agazaryan's son, who is involved in the import and sale of cars.

In response, Kyaramyan stated that there had been 'two requests' for Agazaryan's son and that there was probably an element of corruption involved. Following the altercation between Agazaryan and Kyaramyan, the Anti-Corruption Committee initiated a criminal case on the grounds of “interference with the administration of justice or the investigation of a case.” -0-