[1] Its amendments to the constitution put the country on a course from having a semi-presidential system to being a parliamentary republic,[2] with the changes beginning to take place during the 2017–18 electoral cycle.

[4][5] Opponents of the new constitution, who argued that the amendment was President Serzh Sargsyan's way to stay in power after the end of his second and last term in office, alleged that violence, coercion and electoral fraud were used to secure the vote.

Moreover, according to electoral law, four seats for ethnic minorities will be allocated, one each for Russians, Yezidis, Assyrians and Kurds, respectively.

Furthermore, under the amendments, the National Assembly may adopt a law on amnesty by majority vote of the total number of parliamentarians.

Within a three-day period of the commencement of the term of office of the newly elected National Assembly, the President of the Republic shall appoint as Prime Minister the candidate nominated by the parliamentary majority formed in the procedure prescribed by Article 89 of the Constitution.

Within a seven-day period of accepting the Government's resignation in case of the Prime Minister submitting a resignation or the office of the Prime Minister becoming vacant, the Chairman of the National Assembly shall, based on the distribution of parliamentary seats and based on consultations with the parliamentary factions, nominate the prime-minister candidate that enjoys the confidence of the majority of parliamentarians.

If a Prime Minister is not elected by majority vote of the total number of parliamentarians, the National Assembly shall be dissolved by virtue of law.

The National Assembly shall approve the Program of the Government within a seven-day period by majority vote of the total number of parliamentarians.

The current constitution acclaims, that the Prosecutor General can be impeached only in the cases set by law, having the suggestion of the President.

According to the new constitution, even without the suggestion of the President, National Assembly has the power to impeach the Prosecutor General, only in case of reaching the three-fifths of votes of ministers.

The candidate who receives at least a three-fifths majority vote of total number of the Electoral College members shall be elected as President of the Republic.

[8] Heritage party leader Raffi Hovannisian stated that the proposed constitutional reform is carried out to establish a single political party-state in Armenia.

[9] Levon Zourabian, who led the "No" camp, claimed there had been "mass cases of ballot-stuffing, violence, pressure, vote-buying".

[4] The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe deemed that the low turnout was due to the new constitution being in the interests of the government rather than the population, and decried what it saw as a lack of public debate preceding the vote.