Armenian Parliament Votes to Lift Martial Law

YEREVAN — The Armenian parliament on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to lift martial law that was declared after Azerbaijan’s aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh last September 27.

The vote taken in parliament went 118 to 1 in favor of the bill, with one lawmaker abstaining from voting.

A relevant bill presented by the opposition Prosperous Armenia and Bright Armenia factions was supported by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s majority alliance.

They argued that the martial law was no longer necessary after a Russian-brokered ceasefire that stopped the bloody war in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone on November 10, 2020.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced earlier this week snap parliamentary elections, which are scheduled to take place on June 20.

Parliament Speaker Ararat Mirzoyan, who represents My Step, said on Tuesday that it would be better if the government had initiated the bill, but still called on the parliament majority to vote in favor of lifting martial law “out of solidarity” with the opposition.

“This is at least a way to resolve the situation, restore political stability in one way or another. Taking into account all these factors, I suggest granting the initiative of the parliamentary opposition and voting for this bill to abolish martial law perhaps five or seven days earlier than it would make sense,” Mirzoyan said.

Under Armenia’s law, the parliament speaker signs and publishes a bill on abolishing martial law immediately after its passage.