A few days ago, the ruling Civil Contract Party published its election program, which, in substance, contains no new elements or surprises regarding the policy pursued or intended to be pursued by Nikol Pashinyan.
This refers to the policy implemented over at least the past four years, which can be broadly described as falling within the framework of the so-called “Real Armenia” ideology. The election program essentially confirms the intention to continue this course.
Perhaps the only new element is that Nikol Pashinyan has given the campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church the status of an election promise and program provision, presenting it as a “church reform” package.
According to constitutional expert Vardan Poghosyan, including the “church reform program” in the election platform constitutes a gross violation of the Constitution.
“This is a direct violation of Articles 17 and 18, as well as the general principle of legality enshrined in Article 6 of the Constitution. The latter states that state bodies and officials are authorized to perform only those actions for which they are empowered by the Constitution or laws,” he noted. He added that neither the Constitution nor the laws grant the government authority to interfere in the internal affairs of the church.
“There is no mechanism to influence the internal affairs of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church through state power. The absence of such authority is clearly stated in Articles 17 and 18 of the Constitution. Article 17 guarantees the freedom of religious organizations in the Republic of Armenia and establishes their separation from the state.
This means that Armenia operates as a secular state: secular matters are handled by state and local self-government bodies, while matters of spiritual life are not the concern of the state, which has no right to interfere. The Constitution is clear on this,” he said.
According to political analyst Hakob Badalyan, granting the “church reform” initiative the status of an election program provision means that Nikol Pashinyan has not abandoned his campaign against the church.
“After securing the desired result in the parliamentary elections, Nikol Pashinyan will again move to an active phase of this campaign. Moreover, this time he will likely rely on the following logic: he included the campaign in the program, gave it the status of an election promise, and therefore the public vote would imply support for actions against the church. Consequently, he will try to give it a stamp of legitimacy by referring to the election results,” he said.
Badalyan is convinced that after the elections, the campaign against the church will continue with renewed intensity and a new logic.