The current Armenian constitution requires the government to have a “stable majority” in the National Assembly, meaning that the prime minister has to be backed by most parliament deputies. It envisages a second round of voting in cases where up to three parties or blocs fail to form a majority government as a result of a general election.
A reform “concept” submitted by the Ministry of Justice to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s office earlier this month would the abolish this requirement and make it much easier for a political force winning the plurarity of votes to come to power. It claims that “stability can cause political and economic stagnation.”
The document obtained by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Monday proposes two ways of forming a minority government. One option is for the largely ceremonial president of the republic is to appoint the leader of the political force that won most votes but fell short of a parliamentarity majority as prime minister.
Alternatively, the parliament itself would pick the premier through a plurality voting system. A similar system is already in place in Yerevan. It enabled Pashinian’s Civil Contract party to install its top candidate as mayor following municipal elections held in September.
In what is widely considered a serious setback, Civil Contract fell well short of an absolute majority in the city council empowered to appoint the mayor. The ruling party capitalized on opposition contenders’ failure to quickly agree on a common mayoral candidate.
Armenian opposition groups refrained from commenting on this proposed arrangement, saying that they have not yet seen the Ministry of Justice document. At least some opposition figures are bound to say that Pashinian is simply trying to make sure that he can cling to power despite a serious decline in his popularity.
Pashinian said Armenia must have a new constitution when met with senior Ministry of Justice officials late last week. Commenting on the wisdom of such a change, he made no mention of domestic politics and cited instead the need to ensure country’s “external security” in the “new geopolitical environment” in the region.
Pashinian has repeatedly called for constitutional changes and made conflicting statements about them during his nearly six-year rule. Two years ago, he set up a new body tasked with coordinating the constitutional reform process. The body now headed by Justice Minister Grigor Minasian has still not drafted any constitutional amendments. It is not clear whether it approves of the document put forward by Minasian’s ministry.