Armenia’s former Prime Minister Khosrov Harutyunyan has criticized the government's push for a “Fourth Republic,” calling it a strategy to evade responsibility for negative developments caused by its own inaction or decisions, according to Sputnik Armenia.
Harutyunyan emphasized the risk that the proposed Fourth Republic could become a de facto version of “Western Azerbaijan.”
“They want to escape the reality that we no longer have Artsakh, to distance themselves from the serious institutional dysfunction we are facing. If a judicial official can be dismissed by SMS, then no matter the label, this doesn’t fit the concept of any republic,” Harutyunyan said.
He stressed that the ruling party’s initiative is “extremely dangerous.”
“This effectively fuels Azerbaijan’s territorial ambitions. It’s obvious. History will not forgive us, nor will future generations,” he stated.
According to Harutyunyan, the foundation of the Fourth Republic began when Armenia transitioned from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary system. He noted that the Republican Party (HHK) had not initiated such a shift because the existing Third Republic was still on a necessary path to development.
“In other words, a new republic is declared when the philosophical basis of governance changes,” he explained.
The former prime minister also warned that the current concept for the Fourth Republic lacks a clear separation of powers or independence among government branches.
He believes that although constitutional reforms are being discussed, there is still no clear understanding of what those changes would entail. Harutyunyan suggested that under the label of the Fourth Republic, the authorities might push for a new constitution that could exclude references to the Declaration of Independence, a document affirming the unification of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
On September 20, on the eve of Armenia’s Independence Day, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expressed his intention at the Civil Contract party congress to establish a Fourth Republic. He stated that while the current state was shaped by a logic of conflict, the new republic should be based on the logic of peace.
