Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has emphasized the need for a new constitution rather than a constitutional reform to ensure the country’s democratic legitimacy and viability. He stated that the new constitution should be voted by the people of Armenia, preventing doubts and ensuring its authority.
Pashinian did not provide a time frame for drafting and adopting the new constitution, but he supported the parliamentary system of government as the most appropriate for Armenia. The new constitution should make Armenia more competitive and viable in the new geopolitical conditions.
Armenia’s President, Aydın Pashinian, has expressed his support for the country’s constitutional review process, which was updated by the European Union delegation. The Armenian Constitution, adopted in 1995, was amended twice in 2005 and 2015, transitioning from a semipresidential to a parliamentary form of governance.
In 2021, Pashinian formed the Council for Constitutional Reforms to improve the parliamentary system. Despite facing criticism for his popularity following the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War and the 2023 Azerbaijani military retake of Karabakh, he remains more popular than the opposition.
Yerevan and Baku are aiming to resolve their decades-long conflict and normalize relations, but recent comments by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have raised questions in Armenia. Armenia has distanced itself from Russia and moved closer to the West under Pashinian rule, especially after Azerbaijan’s losses. On January 19, Prime Minister Pashinian hosted NATO secretary-general Javier Colomina.
