Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan, in a statement today marking Constitution Day, reiterated his call for a new constitution, arguing the issue is a “fundamental problem” facing Armenia.

Pashinyan first floated the idea in 2020, two years after coming to power, arguing that the people of Armenia did not trust the existing constitution.

 While he didn’t go into details as to why he believes the current constitution is not “legitimate”, it can be assumed was referring to the December 2015 national referendum that changed Armenia’s political governance from a semi-presidential system to a parliamentary republic.

The referendum passed with 66.2%. Opponents of the new constitution argued that it was a ploy by then President Serzh Sargsyan to stay in power after his second and last term as president.

Opponents and independent European observers claimed the national referendum was marred with various irregularities including vote -rigging and coercion.

In January of this year, Pashinyan again called for a new constitution, arguing it’s needed to make Armenia “more competitive and viable” in an ever-changing world and one that is not subject to “doubt”.

Pashinyan, in his statement today, referred to the ongoing debate in Armenia regarding a proposed new constitution, especially given Baku’s demand that Armenia remove sections of the Armenian constitution that it views as problematic before any peace deal is signed.

Baku claims that a preamble to Armenia’s Constitution indirectly refers to a 1989 declaration on Artsakh’s reunification with the Republic of Armenia and calls for the international recognition of the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

Opposition forces in Armenia have argued that the call made by Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan in January for a new constitution was the result of pressure from Azerbaijan.

Pashinyan’s original efforts to hold a referendum to amend the constitution in April 2020 were indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the declaration of a state of emergency in Armenia.

In his statement today, Pashinyan said the issue isn’t so much a new constitutional text, but about a new method of its creation and adoption.

“We need a new constitution, one that the people consider to be what they created and accepted One that includes their idea of ​​the state they’ve created and defines   relations between people and citizens in that state,” Pashinyan said.

(Following Armenia’s independence, a constitutional referendum was held on July 5, 1995. The amended document was approved by 70.3% of voters, with a turnout of 55.6%.)