The Armenian Parliament has adopted a draft law reducing compulsory military service from 24 months to 18 months, effective 1 January 2026. While the government has presented the change as being in accordance with their governing programme, the opposition has viewed it as a tactic aimed at garnering support ahead of the 2026 elections.
The draft legislation was approved with 65 votes in favour, four against, and 20 abstentions, in a parliamentary session convened by the government.
In late October, the government approved the legislative initiative.
The reduction will not affect soldiers who are already completing compulsory military service as of 1 January 2026.
In its justification of the draft law, the Defence Ministry noted that the legislation was linked to ‘the effective implementation’ of the requirements set out in the government’s 2021–2026 programme, which envisages a reduction in the length of compulsory military service through an expansion of contract-based service.
‘In recent years, active steps have been taken to expand contract military service [...] the results of which are assessed as positive and show a tendency to make contract service more attractive and to further expand it. In this context, it has been deemed appropriate to reduce the duration of compulsory military service for enlisted personnel from 24 months by six months’, the justification read.
In contrast to the reasoning offered by the government, Armenia’s opposition has suggested the move is a ploy to influence voters akin to a pre-election bribe.
Such a view has been expressed by opposition MP Gegham Manukyan, a member of the Standing Committee on Defence and Security of the Parliament.
In a lengthy Facebook post criticising the draft law in late November, Manukyan called it ‘a momentary step taken in anticipation of votes’.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
