He issued the order after arguing with Davit Ghazinian of the opposition Strong Armenia alliance during a session of the National Assembly chaired by him. Ghazinian loudly protested against the fact that Aleksanian is continuing to comment scathingly on just about every speech delivered by opposition deputies.
Speaker Ruben Rubinian and his second deputy Hayk Konjorian, who both are affiliated with the ruling Civil Contract, have routinely done the same while chairing session of the parliament elected in June. The practice was rare in Armenia’s past legislatures elected prior to the 2018 “velvet revolution.”
A dozen uninformed officers of the State Protection Service (SPS) were about to force Ghazinian out of the auditorium when he decided to leave it by himself. The other Strong Armenia deputies as well as their colleagues from the opposition Hayastan alliance walked out in protest moments later.
“What happened today was unprecedented,” Ghazinian told reporters afterwards. “Even during [Hayastan leader] Anna Grigorian’s speech, the vice-speaker interrupted her and started talking.”
Armenia - Speaker Ruben Rubinian and his deputy Vahagn Aleksanian (right) hold a parliament session, Yerevan, August 17, 2026.
“Our colleague was illegally removed from the auditorium,” said Strong Armenia’s Aram Vartevanian, who was elected the parliament’s third vice-speaker earlier this month but has not been allowed to chair any sessions since then.
Vartevanian accused Rubinian and the two pro-government vice-speakers of violating the parliamentary statutes. Hayastan’s Levon Kocharian, echoed the accusation.
“After almost every speech, they feel like they have to make some comments and assessments from their ‘stature,’” he said. “This is absolutely wrong. This directly contradicts the National Assembly statutes.”
Aleksanian denied breaking the rules of procedure and said he is right to intervene when opposition deputies spread “disinformation.” He also defended his decision to order Ghazinian’s removal.
“Up until the last moment I tried to make sure that tension is minimal,” he said. “Law and order must be maintained during sessions of the parliament.”
Armenia - Security officers remove opposition deputy Gegham Manukian from the parliament podium, Օctober 26, 2021
Opposition members of the previous Armenian parliament likewise accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s political team of illegally restricting free speech on the parliament floor for the first time in Armenia’s post-Soviet history.
Scores of SPS officers were deployed in the parliament at the start of its five-year term in 2021. Three months later, they controversially dragged Hayastan’s Gegham Manukian from the parliament podium after he strongly criticized one of his pro-government colleagues. The SPS is a security agency primarily tasked providing bodyguards to Armenia’s top state officials.