Armenia’s opposition With Honour alliance has submitted a draft statement to parliament calling for a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, accusing his government of mismanagement and endangering the country’s future.

With Honour accused Pashinyan of being responsible for policies that led to the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh, mishandling the plight of Armenian prisoners of war, and fostering corruption.

Pashinyan, who came to power in 2018 after mass protests, has faced growing criticism over his handling of the war with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh and its aftermath, and his efforts to normalise relations with neighbouring countries.

The motion, published on Facebook by With Honour leader Hayk Mamijanyan, alleges that Pashinyan’s administration has “failed to fulfill its duties” and “significantly deviated” from its approved programme, triggering what it described as a “systemic crisis at all levels of public administration”. 

“The government’s destructive activities in all areas of public administration – security, foreign policy, economics and social security – demonstrate its fundamental incompetence and lack of vision,” the statement said.

The party said the prime minister has “irrevocably lost the legitimacy of governing the country and his continued stay in power poses a threat to the existence of the Republic”. It called for the formation of a transitional government to stabilise national security, restore the rule of law and prepare for free elections.

“The time has come for change before the impending and possibly new destructive disasters,” the statement added, urging other political forces, civil society groups and citizens to rally behind the initiative.

Under Armenian law, at least 36 lawmakers must sign on to launch a no-confidence motion and 54 of the 107 members of parliament must back it for it to pass. The two opposition blocs currently hold 34 seats combined, with another four deputies sitting as independents.