Republican Party of Armenia Executive Board member Artak Zakaryan wrote on Facebook that Armenia is governed by a party that has changed its program and goals four times in six years.
“Any self-respecting party must have a program and a worldview it believes in. In Armenia, many parties have become mere tools for power struggles, without ideological or programmatic foundations,” Zakaryan argued.
He recalled media reports that Civil Contract plans to hold a congress on September 20 to amend its charter and political objectives. Zakaryan said the party’s “defeatist and concessionary” policies will force it to revise its programs again, stressing that instead of achieving goals, Civil Contract has destroyed Armenia’s aims and weakened the positions of the Armenian people.
He reviewed the party’s shifting priorities:
- In 2015, as an opposition party, Civil Contract adopted a nationalist and ambitious program emphasizing unconditional normalization with Turkey, Karabakh’s full participation in talks, international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and reliance on the OSCE Minsk Group for conflict resolution.
- In 2019, already in power, Civil Contract reaffirmed these principles, stressing Karabakh’s decisive role and prioritizing security and equality of peoples.
- In its 2021 election program, it declared that Artsakh could not survive under Azerbaijani rule and insisted on self-determination as the basis of conflict settlement.
- But after October 6, 2022, when Armenia recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan in Prague, Civil Contract changed its agenda at its October 29 congress, adopting a new vision where the focus shifted from status to rights and security of Karabakh Armenians.
Now, ahead of the September 20, 2025 congress, the party plans another revision, focusing on:
- creating a favorable international and regional environment,
- promoting education and creativity,
- ensuring conditions for demographic growth,
- developing institutional systems for internal and external security.
Zakaryan concluded that before 2018, Civil Contract pursued ambitious, nationwide goals, but today its program is vague and empty.
“This would not be tragic if Civil Contract were not in power, turning our national victories into defeats. With its treacherous actions and total failures, it has undermined the programs of most Armenian parties and harmed the vital interests of the Armenian people,” Zakaryan wrote.
