Former President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress (HAK) has urged Armenia’s leadership to reverse the country’s transition to a parliamentary system of government which was completed less than a year ago.

In a weekend statement, the party called for a referendum on restoring the previous, “semi-presidential” system which gave sweeping executive powers to the president of the republic. It said the referendum should be held by February 2020 and followed by the conduct of a presidential election within a year.

The HAK did not explain why it believes that Armenia should no longer be a parliamentary republic. Its lengthy statement specified instead political and economic reforms which should be implemented in the country.

The HAK is not represented in the Armenian parliament. It fared poorly in the April 2017 parliamentary elections and chose not to participate in the snap elections held in December 2018.

Ter-Petrosian’s party and other opposition forces strongly opposed a 2015 constitutional reform that turned Armenia into a parliamentary republic led by a prime minister. They argued that the reform is part of then President Serzh Sarkisian’s plans to stay in power after completing his second and final term.

Sarkisian provoked mass protests and was forced to resign when he attempted to extend his decade-long rule in April 2018. The protest leader, Nikol Pashinian, became prime minister in May.

A senior member of Pashinian’s My Step alliance, Lena Nazarian, said on Monday that the current authorities are ready in principle to discuss the HAK proposal. “Constitutional reforms are on our agenda but we have not yet held discussions on the government system and at the opportune moment we will discuss that proposal as well,” she said.

But Edmon Marukian, the leader of the Bright Armenia Party (LHK) rejected the HAK’s idea, saying that it acceptance would mean serious political “regress” for Armenia.

Marukian said that the parliamentary system is much more suited for democratic governance and that Armenian political forces should therefore strive to strengthen it by curbing some of the prime minister’s powers.

A senior representative of Prosperous Armenia (BHK), the other opposition represented in the current parliament, reacted more cautiously to the HAK statement. Mikael Melkumian said the BHK has not discussed it.

The “semi-presidential” system was introduced in 1995 when Ter-Petrosian served as Armenia’s president. His critics said at the time that it gave him disproportionate powers at the expense of the legislative and even judicial branches of government.