Before the parliament votes today on who will be Armenia’s next prime minister, MPs continue to grill Nikol Pashinyan, the only candidate for the job.

When asked by Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) MP Jemma Baghdasaryan if he agreed with his supporters that parliamentary deputies who haven’t served in the military should resign and serve two years, Pashinyan skirted giving a direct answer, merely saying that the nation’s security is of paramount importance and that being an MP hadn’t prevented him voluntarily going to the Artsakh village of Jankatagh when the need arose and serving on guard duty.

“All throughout my life as a politician and journalist, I have served Armenia and Artsakh,” Pashinyan said.

Baghdasaryan replied that she wasn’t satisfied with Pashinyan’s explanation, noting that when the parliament was debating a bill on military service Yelk Alliance MPs argued that officials who hadn’t served in the military must resign.

Pashinyan retorted that Yelk MPs couldn’t have said such a thing because some of them hadn’t served in a manner legally legalized by the law.