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16 September 2025 - 11:38 AMT

Opposition bloc moves for PM no-confidence vote

The I Have Honor faction of Armenia’s parliament has formally presented a draft declaration of no confidence in Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, faction leader Hayk Mamijanyan announced on Facebook.

The draft, titled “On declaring no confidence in the Prime Minister of Armenia due to national crisis and governance failure”, urges all political forces, civil society, and individual citizens committed to Armenia’s future to unite around the no-confidence initiative as the most realistic path toward a change of government.

The document accuses Pashinyan’s government of systemic failures in nearly all spheres:

  • National security – collapse of strategy, loss of sovereignty, capitulation in the face of threats.
  • Artsakh – destruction of decades of negotiations, loss of the republic, forced displacement and ethnic cleansing.
  • POWs and former Artsakh leadership – failure to repatriate prisoners and detainees held in Azerbaijan.
  • Territorial integrity – failure to defend internationally recognized borders amid repeated Azerbaijani incursions.
  • Genocide recognition – abandoning the agenda of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
  • Foreign policy – reckless concessions, weakening Armenia’s international standing and alliances.
  • Democracy – decline of institutions, political prisoners, suppression of dissent, limits on freedoms of speech and assembly.
  • Corruption – growth of systemic corruption and patronage networks.
  • Economy and society – stagnation, emigration, rising poverty, neglect of 140,000 displaced Artsakh Armenians.

According to the faction, these failures reflect Pashinyan’s personal decisions and leadership, which have “irreversibly undermined his legitimacy” and pose “an existential threat to Armenia.”

The faction calls for:

  • Consolidation of MPs to back the no-confidence vote.
  • Formation of a transitional national unity government tasked with stabilizing security, restoring rule of law, releasing political prisoners, guaranteeing democratic freedoms, rebuilding social cohesion, organizing free and fair elections, reversing Armenia’s international decline, safeguarding the economy, and prioritizing the return of POWs and Artsakh’s imprisoned leaders.

The draft concludes: “The time for change is now, before new, possibly catastrophic disasters strike.”

On June 7, following the Republican Party of Armenia’s executive decision, the I Have Honor faction resolved to initiate this constitutional procedure under the Law on the Rules of the National Assembly. The bloc has nominated Davit Hambardzumyan, mayor of Masis and RPA Council member, as candidate for prime minister.