YEREVAN (A.W.)—The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Supreme Council of Armenia announced that it is calling for ARF Member of Parliament Aghvan Vardanyan’s resignation from his parliamentary post.

In his address to Armenia’s National Assembly on May 1, Vardanyan said that he would not vote for the sole candidate for prime minister—the “Yelk” faction’s Nikol Pashinyan—even though the ARF had announced that it would be supporting the opposition leader’s candidacy.

Vardanyan noted in his address that he is willing to step down from his parliamentary post for stepping out of party line.

“The ARF Supreme Council of Armenia announces that ARF parliamentary faction member Aghvan Vardanyan’s decision was a personal one, which is not in line with the ARF’s official stance,” read a part of the announcement released by the Supreme Council. “There has been a gross violation of [party] discipline, which will be investigated. Accordingly, the ARF Supreme Council of Armenia calls for Aghvan Vardanyan to step down from his parliamentary post,” the announcement concludes.

Vardanyan is a former member of the ARF Supreme Council of Armenia. He is a former member of the ARF Bureau and the former editor of Armenia’s Yerkir Daily and the ARF’s Droshak organ. He was first elected to Armenia’s Parliament in 1999, and has served as the head of the ARF Parliamentary faction. In 2003, he was appointed and served as the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia.