Political tensions in Armenia have shifted to the legal arena, as Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, leader of the "Holy Struggle" movement, has filed a lawsuit against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
According to the Operative Information Center-OMM, the lawsuit demands that Pashinyan retract statements deemed damaging to the Archbishop's honor and dignity. Furthermore, Galstanyan is seeking a symbolic compensation of 49.7 drams.
The legal action stems from remarks made by Prime Minister Pashinyan on June 11. During his address, the Prime Minister claimed that his ruling "Civil Contract" party secured votes in elections through entirely honest means. He accused opposing political forces of utilizing bribery to gain voter support, stating, "If there were no money, no one would have voted for them."
Galstanyan has characterized these comments as slander and is demanding an official retraction. The specific sum of 49.7 drams was calculated to correspond with the percentage of votes the "Civil Contract" party reportedly received in the elections.
For context, the political landscape in Armenia remains polarized following the parliamentary elections held on June 7, 2026. Official results indicated that the ruling "Civil Contract" party secured 49.7456 percent of the vote, granting them 64 mandates. While the ruling party maintained a parliamentary majority, it lacks the necessary threshold to unilaterally enact constitutional amendments, leading to ongoing friction with opposition movements like the one led by Galstanyan.
Archbishop Galstanyan has previously engaged in legal battles. He successfully won a defamation lawsuit against Yerevan Council of Elders members Ani Khachatryan and Hayk Saakyan, with the court ordering both individuals to pay the Archbishop 750,000 drams (approximately 2,000 USD) in compensation.
