Justice Minister on the 'Super-Premiership' System

The 'super-premiership' system is intended to be balanced through constitutional amendments. This was stated by Justice Minister Karen Andreasian during a conversation with journalists after the first meeting of the Council on Constitutional Reforms.

“We all know that the current Constitution does not provide significant levers of power to the President of Armenia. We are accused of the fact that the present Constitution grants great influence to the Prime Minister. It is true that the authority is given by us, but we are ready to discuss the balance of powers between the branches of government. What occurred in 2015, when we switched to a parliamentary governance model, unfortunately disrupted that balance and the first thing that needs to be corrected is this,” said Andreasian.

He stated that at the same time, there should not be an attempt to take powers from the government and Prime Minister and transfer them to the President. The Minister noted that they are currently discussing the return to a presidential or semi-presidential system, and if he were to vote, he would oppose changing the governmental system. The concern is that every time the governance system is changed, it subjects the country to 'tremors.'

The minister expressed his willingness to agree to changes in the governance system if there were strong justifications indicating that the country would achieve success under a presidential system.

When asked about former President Armen Sarkissian's statement in his resignation letter that he lacks the authority to address a number of issues and whether this issue will be addressed, Andreasian replied that in this regard, the President has acted hastily. According to the Minister, the process of constitutional amendments should resolve that issue.

It is noteworthy that Armen Sarkissian submitted his resignation from the presidency on January 23.