Azerbaijan objects to a preamble to the current Armenian constitution referring to a 1990 declaration of independence, which in turn cites a 1989 unification act adopted by the legislative bodies of Soviet Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The only legal way to remove that reference is to adopt a new constitution through a referendum.

While rejecting the Azerbaijani precondition in public, Prime Minister Pashinian has repeatedly called for the kind of constitutional change that is demanded by Baku. His government has still not made public the new constitution drafted by the Armenian Justice Ministry early this year.

Arusyak Julhakian, the incoming chairwoman of the new Armenian parliament’s committee on legal affairs, said it will be publicized by the end of this year. Julhakian, who is affiliated with the ruling Civil Contract party, also made clear that the draft will not mention the 1990 declaration.

“Does the preamble that should presumably be part of the draft contain a reference to the Declaration of Independence?” she said, answering a question from an opposition colleague. “No, it was never going to contain, and [Azerbaijani President Ilham] Aliyev has nothing to do with that.”

The draft has to be approved by at least two-thirds of the parliament deputies before being put on a referendum. Pashinian’s party fell short of such a majority in the disputed elections held on June 7. Pashinian has yet to clarify just how he is planning to overcome this hurdle. Julhakian indicated in this regard that Civil Contract hopes to win over some opposition lawmakers.

The two opposition groups represented in the National Assembly have vowed to scuttle the adoption of the new constitution which they say is imposed by Baku.

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