Armenia: Prime Minister Pashinyan considers snap elections

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has declined to rule out calling snap elections, potentially as early as next year. This possibility follows the June parliamentary elections where Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party secured 64 of the 105 seats in the National Assembly.

The move comes amid a diplomatic deadlock with Azerbaijan regarding a peace treaty. Azerbaijan has demanded that Armenia amend its constitution to remove references to the reunification of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh before a formal peace deal can be signed. While the ruling party holds a simple majority, it lacks the two-thirds majority required to hold a referendum on constitutional changes.

Pashinyan indicated that if the government cannot convince the opposition to support a constitutional referendum, he may seek a new mandate from voters to achieve the necessary majority.