MPs Have Not Received Bonuses Since February 2020, Papoyan

The members of the National Assembly of Armenia have not received bonuses (30% of their salary) since February 2020. This was stated by Gevorg Papoyan, a member of the 'Civil Contract' faction, during the discussions on the draft state budget for 2022 in parliament, in response to a question from his colleague Aghvan Vardanyan from the opposition 'Armenia' alliance.

“Bonuses are planned for the staff of the parliamentary apparatus, amounting to 30% of their total salary fund. Drivers, commission experts, assistants to MPs, and technical staff will receive them, but MPs will not receive them as before,” added Papoyan.

It is noteworthy that this year the National Assembly has increased the allowances for MPs' service expenses from 50,000 to 250,000 drams through a vote by the parliamentary majority. Moreover, there is no obligation for the MP to disclose whether those funds were used for their intended purpose, nor are they required to return any unused money.

Previously, Ararat Mirzoyan, who was serving as the Speaker of the National Assembly at that time, announced that in the first half of 2021, MPs decided to renounce bonuses. The 'Armenia' and 'I Have Honor' opposition factions donate these funds to a charitable foundation for the rehabilitation of wounded servicemen.