New conspiracy expected in Armenia's ruling party

A new scandal related to oligarchs, especially MPs, having links to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party, is expected to occur in the party.

"A new scandal is brewing in the Civil Contract party, this time connected with oligarchs close to the party, especially MPs. The problem is that Pashinyan brought one or two rich people to the National Assembly, first to take care of the needs of his own party members, and then to earn significant money through them," Caliber.Az reports citing the Armenian media.

“During two years after the snap parliamentary elections, Pashinyan has not received any dividends from either MP Khachatur Sukiasyan or MP Gurgen Arsenyan. Arsenyan is involved in a big interstate scandal, Russia rejects him as an ambassador. Sukiasyan also refused to support candidate Pashinyan in the elections to the Yerevan Council of Elders, which created big problems for the current authorities. The party had to enter into a coalition agreement with the Republican Party, but even this did not save it from all possible problems,” the message said.

According to the message, Pashinyan wanted to force both Sukiasyan and Gurgen Arsenyan to give up their mandates, but this time even his old party members spoke out against his will, declaring that it was impossible to take away the mandates. Pashinyan suspects that Sukiasyan renders financial support to the MPs, thereby gathering around himself those dissatisfied with the leader of the Civil Contract party and creating an army of loyalists.

“Everybody knows that Sukiasyan has big political ambitions. He even thinks about taking over as prime minister after Pashinyan’s dismissal. Pashinyan knows this. Being suspicious from birth, Pashinyan is becoming and trying to suppress Sukiasyan in various ways by his fellow party members, forcing them to give up their mandates, otherwise, he will appeal to law enforcement officers and the State Revenue Committee led by Rustam Badasyan against Sukiasyan and Arsenyan. Badasyan has links to politician, businessman Tigran Avinyan. Everybody knows about the long conflicts between Avinyan and Sukiasyan,” the message says.