Reforming the constitution of any nation is inherently challenging, but in Armenia it has always proven particularly controversial. Introduced by referendum in 1995 under then President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the current constitution has been amended twice by his successors – Robert Kocharyan in 2005 and Serzh Sargsyan in 2015. The second led to demonstrations in 2018 when provisions transforming Armenia from a presidential to parliamentary republic kicked in allowing Sargsyan to retain power past his second and final term in office. Leading the protestors was Nikol Pashinyan so it was not unexpected that he too would change the constitution once in office.
His attempt to do so four years ago was thwarted by the pandemic. Now he is trying again.
Speaking at the Ministry of Justice in January, Pashinyan not only emphasised the necessity of constitutional reform but even argued for a comprehensive overhaul rather than piecemeal amendments. The purpose, he said, in addition to possibly switching from majority to minority governmental system, was to make Armenia “more competitive and viable” in a new “geopolitical and regional situation.” The opposition instinctively interpreted those words as referring to his administration’s attempts to normalise relations with Azerbaijan.
At the heart of these claims is a belief that the preamble in the current constitution referring to the 1990 Declaration of Independence, itself based on the 1989 decision on the “Reunification of the Armenian SSR and the Mountainous Region of Karabakh,” could be removed. The opposition claims that doing so would only be at the behest of Baku. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan has not categorically denied the claim but does confirm that Azerbaijan continues to raise this issue in negotiations, interpreting the preamble as indisputable claims on its territory.
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Time will tell, but whatever happens next, an unprecedented debate on Armenia’s future and where the small land-locked country stands in the region could be on the near horizon, something that has arguably happened only once before. Forecasting future defeat unless compromise was reached, Ter-Petrosyan addressed the nation in an article simply entitled War or Peace? Time to get Serious.
The full opinion piece can be read online here.
