ANC calls on opposition to unite

ArmInfo. The Armenian National Congress Party called on the opposition to unite.

The party's statement notes that, under the pretext of creating a  constitutional majority, supposedly necessary for the speedy  establishment of peace with Azerbaijan, the regime of Armenian Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan has begun a process of restricting  democratic and civil liberties and the creation of institutional  foundations for self-government in Armenia. Despite Foreign Minister  Ararat Mirzoyan's admission in public debates that all major  opposition forces accept the peace treaty he signed, all opponents of  the government have been declared "war parties" and enemies of peace.  During the elections, widespread and systematic violations of  electoral law were committed, distorting the will of Armenian  citizens and undermining the legitimacy of state power. In clear  violation of Article 101 of the Electoral Code and undermining  citizens' electoral rights, the Central Electoral Commission  illegally awarded Nikol Pashinyan's party four additional mandates,  giving the ruling party a majority and significantly weakening the  system of checks and balances.

"The Civil Contract Party, led by Nikol Pashinyan, in cooperation  with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, has introduced an  unconstitutional bill amending the Electoral Code, according to which  only citizens who have permanently resided in Armenia over the past  year will have the right to vote in referendums and elections to the  National Assembly. The purpose of the bill is to exclude  approximately half a million citizens from the electoral lists of the  Republic of Armenia, which will allow the regime to significantly  facilitate the implementation of constitutional amendments imposed by  Azerbaijan and strengthen Pashinyan's personal authority. The  regime's long-term goal is to form a constitutional majority in  parliament at any cost and adopt a Constitution that will, on the one  hand, fulfill Azerbaijan's demand and eliminate the state and legal  basis of Armenia's independence - the Declaration of Independence,  and on the other hand, finally eliminate the last remnants of  constitutional checks and balances that hinder Nikol Pashinyan's  personal authority. To achieve this goal, the regime cynically  exploits the international community's support for the peace process  with Azerbaijan, trying to turn it into support for its attempts to  establish "an authoritarian anti-democratic regime," the statement  said.

Its authors note that in the current situation, the Armenian National  Congress proposes that all opposition forces concerned about the fate  of democracy and sovereignty create a nationwide united front for the  "No" movement. "We propose, based on the results of joint  consultations, to form a single governing body of the 'No' movement  and organize joint activities with the following goals and areas:  holding joint mass public protests against the results of the  falsified elections to the National Assembly on June 7, 2026, and  appealing the illegal decisions and actions of the regime associated  with them; fighting for the speedy holding of early elections to the  National Assembly of the country, which is the only way to overcome  the crisis caused by the illegitimacy of state power; opposing all  illegal attempts by the regime to create a constitutional majority  through fraud and repression; opposing any amendments to Article 202  of the Constitution, which determines the procedure for adopting or  amending a new Constitution, that could lower the threshold of 2/3 of  the votes of the National Assembly deputies required to submit a  draft of a new Constitution to a referendum," the statement  emphasizes.

It is also proposed to develop a new draft Constitution based on the  semi-presidential model adopted in 1990 through national consensus,  which, along with the necessary legal and political norms, will  retain the reference to the Declaration of Independence and, on the  other hand, will create constitutional mechanisms of checks and  balances that will ensure the real independence of the judiciary,  investigative bodies, the Central Electoral Commission and other  state institutions from the executive branch, thereby restoring the  institutional foundations of democracy and civil liberties.