On June 10, two opposition factions of the Armenian Parliament, "Armenia" and "I Have Honor," prepared to submit a petition to the National Assembly (NA) Council. They demanded that an extraordinary session of the legislative body be convened by June 17 to address the issue of the government's resignation and the formation of a new cabinet of ministers.

Artsvik Minasyan, the Secretary of the "Armenia" faction, stated that the parliamentary opposition aimed to convene the session by June 17. They had already secured 32 signatures, surpassing the required 27. The NA Council needed to adopt their proposal at its session scheduled for later that Monday. The majority of the NA Council, composed of deputies from the ruling Civil Contract party, included only two members from the opposition factions, making the approval of the proposal uncertain.

Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan announced that the NA Council would reject the opposition's proposal to convene an extraordinary session to consider the government's resignation. Speaking to reporters on June 10, Simonyan emphasized that there were no grounds for holding such a session. "We will, of course, reject this proposal. Give us at least one reason why we should not do it. They [parliamentary opposition] change their 'face' every year and keep making the same demands," Simonyan stated. 

He ruled out the possibility of including a motion of no confidence in the government on the parliament's agenda, calling such demands 'absurd.' Simonyan argued that the opposition's demands lacked substantial support and dismissed the notion of government resignation based on protest turnout. "So, every time someone gathers 10-20 thousand people, the government should resign? Are you serious? Two opposition factions together received the votes of 300 thousand citizens [in the early parliamentary elections in June 2021], where are they? Let them collect at least a third," he said.

Simonyan added that there was no real demand for a change of power in the country, and any such decision would be made at the elections. He also accused the opposition and Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the leader of the protest movement "Tavush in the Name of Motherland," of provoking the police and deceiving citizens.

Notably, according to the law on "Rules of Procedure of the National Assembly of Armenia," if the NA Council rejects the proposal, the extraordinary session must be convened by law on the fifth working day, June 17, at 18:30 local time.

Overnight Tensions: Armenian Police Confront Protesters at Parliament

During the night on June 9, the protesters, led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the Primate of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, gathered at the National Assembly of the Republic. Reinforced police units cordoned off all entrances to the building. The situation periodically escalated, with localized clashes and verbal altercations between the police and protesters, including confrontations between the Deputy Head of the Armenian Police Aram Hovhannisyan, and Bagrat Srbazan.

Protesters demanding the resignation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan blocked the central Marshal Baghramyan Avenue with tents and benches. "We will spend the night here, in tents and cars," stated Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the leader of the protests. Later that night, some protesters marched to the government mansion on Proshyan Street, where numerous law enforcement forces met them. In the morning, the groups reunited in front of the parliament building.

On the morning of June 10, supporters of the "Tavush in the Name of Motherland" movement remained at the intersection of Baghramyan Avenue and Demirchyan Street in Yerevan, having set up tents in front of the parliament building the previous night.