Armenian MPs reportedly received over ֏3 million ($7,800) in December, covering their salaries for both December and January, as well as double bonuses.
The sum was disclosed by Kristine Vardanyan, an opposition MP from the Armenia Alliance faction, who described it as an unprecedentedly high payout, at least since 2021 when she took her seat in the parliament.
The figure shocked Armenian society, with critics pointing at lack of increases for pensions, which average ֏49,000 ($128), or the minimum wage of ֏75,000 ($197), as well as high levels of poverty in the country.
Vardanyan told Armenian media that in December, she and her fellow MPs were surprised to receive a transfer of over ֏3 million. Speaking to Factor TV, Vardanyan said the sum included their salaries for December and January, as well as bonuses.
Unclear calculations
As the authorities have not disclosed the amounts allocated for the bonuses not only to the MPs, but also to the parliament staff, Armenian media has not been able to accurately calculate how the total amount paid to the MPs reached ֏3 million.
On paper, MPs receive an after-tax salary of ֏590,000 ($1,550) and an additional ֏250,000 ($660) per month to cover parliamentary activity expenses. Over two months, this amounts to ֏1,680,000 ($4,400), with the remaining ֏1,345,000 ($3,500) reportedly coming from double bonuses.
Parliamentary Speaker Alen Simonyan had issued two decrees on 11 and 12 December announcing that separate bonuses would be allocated to MPs and parliamentary staff.
One of the bonuses was for New Year and Christmas, while the other was linked to a government decision on budgetary redistribution.
Simonyan’s orders specified the amounts for each individual in the appendices, however, the documents were not published, and parliament declined to provide them to RFE/RL, citing the protection of employees' personal data.
MPs from the ruling Civil Contract party have declined to comment in response to inquiries from Factor TV and RFE/RL, while Vardanyan said that her faction intended to donate the sum to charity. A similar statement was made by the other opposition faction — I Have Honour.
Asked about the bonuses allocated to civil servants during a press briefing on Thursday, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that his government had been introducing a performance-based evaluation system, and was moving away from a process through which ‘everyone receives the same rates’.
He added that state employees are required to spend 10% of the received sum on developing their skills.
However, neither Pashinyan, parliament, nor any representative of the ruling Civil Contract party have explained why MPs and parliament staff received double bonuses in 2025.
OC Media
