Tigran Abrahamyan, secretary of the I Have Honor faction, criticized the government’s draft law to reduce mandatory military service from two years to 1.5 years starting with the 2026 summer draft. Writing on Facebook, he called the move a pre-election “trick” aimed at turning the army’s downsizing into electoral support.
He noted that the government justified the proposal by citing recent steps to expand contract service through the “Defend the Homeland” program, the professional sergeant system, soldier certification, and incentives for long-term service in border units.
Abrahamyan countered that this does not reflect reality, since over the past four years the state has had to annually mobilize thousands of reservists and members of the Yerkrapah Union to cover combat duty shortages. He argued that such mobilizations are not just for training but serve to ensure frontline staffing amid serious recruitment problems.
He stressed that despite increased participation in the “Defend the Homeland” program, Armenia remains far from resolving its overall staffing issues.
According to Abrahamyan, the government seeks to achieve three goals:
- Stage a pre-election trick by turning the army reduction into an electoral tool.
- Shrink the armed forces, later justifying concessions by citing the state’s weakness.
- Fulfill an Azerbaijani demand by signaling that Armenia has no intent to resist.
“This position may be unpopular for some, but for me the priority is Armenia’s national and state interests, our people’s security. I will continue to insist that this draft is a powerful internal blow to the state, which will only deepen our security challenges,” Abrahamyan concluded.
