As part of his ‘Real Armenia’ ideology, Pashinyan reiterates need for a new constitution

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has again spoken in favour of adopting a new constitution through a national referendum in a speech dedicated to the ‘Real Armenia’ ideology developed by his government.

The speech was delivered on Wednesday evening, with Pashinyan presenting the draft of ‘The Ideology of the Real Armenia’.

Pashinyan first voiced the concept in April 2024, insisting that Armenians must accept modern Armenia within its current borders.

In his latest speech, Pashinyan noted that the vision of the progress and development of Armenia should be ‘based on the ideology of the Real Armenia, [which] is multi-layered and must be reflected in all spheres of state and public life’.

The need for the change of the constitution was the first of 14 points in the draft presented by Pashinyan on Wednesday.

‘This ideology of Real Armenia identifies the motherland with the internationally recognised state, the Republic of Armenia, and patriotism with the interests of that state, the system of rights and obligations defined in it’, the draft read.

It noted that for the development of ‘this model of patriotism’, it was essential for the people of Armenia to ‘perceive themselves not only as the founder of the state but also as the source of the legal order established in the state’.

The adoption of the new constitution ‘through a national referendum is essential for this system’, the draft read, pointing at the ‘serious lack of legitimacy, at least in public perception’, in the case of the current constitution.

‘The strategic goal of adopting the new constitution is the transition from the residual system of functioning of a stateless nation to a system of functioning of state-building people’, the text concluded.

Proposed constitutional changes occurring ‘under duress of the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem’, opposition says

After reading the first point, Pashinyan further elaborated on the need to change the constitution.

‘The citizens of Armenia should perceive themselves, and perhaps do perceive them, as the founders of the Republic of Armenia, but they should also perceive themselves as the founders of the legal relations, the constitutional order, that is, the system of rights and obligations established in [Armenia]’.

Pashinyan argued that currently ‘in many cases’, the current legal system was perceived ‘as imposed on citizens by someone else, and this is one of the most important obstacles to the progress of our state’.

Even though Pashinyan said that he has talked about the need to change the constitution since February 2020, his critics argue that the proposal is connected to Azerbaijani demands.

Changing the Armenian Constitution is a demand pushed by the Azerbaijani government, with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev stating that it would be ‘simply impossible’ to reach a peace deal if the Armenian Constitution ‘remains unchanged’. Aliyev claims that the constitution as currently phrased lays claim to territories in Azerbaijan and Turkey.

Last February, Pashinyan himself compared Armenia’s current constitution as akin to the way a bull reacts to a red cloth, suggesting that it needed to be changed.

‘A truly sovereign Armenia — when you don't change your constitution based on internal demand, because the super-prime ministership and the electoral provision of a stable majority are very convenient, but you change it because there is no way to avoid Azerbaijan’s demands, because [among other things] due to your own mistakes, you have [created] a situation where you can no longer resist’, Narek Sukiasyan, a researcher at the Centre for Culture and Civilization Studies, wrote on Facebook.

Seyran Ohanyan, the head of the opposition Armenia Alliance faction, also suggested that Pashinyan’s initiative was being carried out ‘under duress by Azerbaijan and the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem’, seeing no need for constitutional changes.

On Thursday, Justice Minister Srbuhi Galyan said that the referendum would ‘most likely’ take place after the parliamentary elections in 2026, and refrained from commenting on the content of the text.

Last August, the Armenian government announced plans to hold a referendum to approve a new constitution in 2027, with Pashinyan assigned to draft a new constitution by the end of 2026.

Armenia to hold constitutional referendum in 2027

The Armenian Government has announced plans to hold a referendum to approve a new constitution in 2027, with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan assigned to draft a new constitution by the end of next year. On Thursday, Justice Minister Grigor Minasyan, who is also the head of the Council of Constituti…

OC MediaArshaluys Barseghyan