The Christian Democratic Union of Armenia (CDU) ( hy, Հայաստանի Քրիստոնեա-դեմոկրատական միություն, translit=Hayastani K’ristonea-demokratakan miut’yun (HKDM)) is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

History

The party was founded in 1991. It is led by

Khosrov Harutyunyan Khosrov Meliki Harutyunyan ( hy, Խոսրով Մելիքի Հարությունյան; May 30, 1948) is an Armenian politician who served as the Prime Minister of Armenia from 30 July 1992 until 2 February 1993. Harutyunyan is the Chairman of the ...

, former

Prime Minister of Armenia The prime minister of Armenia is the head of government and most senior minister within the Government of Armenia, Armenian government, and is required by the constitution to "determine the main directions of policy of the Government, manage the ...

(1992–1993). The party is a member of the

European Christian Political Movement The European Christian Political Movement (ECPM) is the only European political party explicitly working on promoting Christian values. The party unites national parties and individuals from across Europe who share policies influenced by Chris ...

. The party participated in the

1995 Armenian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Armenia on 5 July 1995, with a second round on 29 July. There were 150 constituency seats and 40 elected on a national basis using proportional representation. The result was a victory for the Republic Bloc (a ...

s as part of the "Republican Bloc" alliance. The CDU won one seat in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

. The party participated in the 2003 Armenian parliamentary election, winning just 0.67% of the vote and failing to gain any seats in the National Assembly. On 7 October 2009, the party participated in an international conference organized by the European Christian Political Movement. Opportunities and challenges of the development of Christian democracy in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russ ...

was discussed. A decision was made to establish the "Association of Christian-Democrats of Eastern Europe" in order to strengthen ties and cooperation between sister parties in Europe. The party nominated one member to participate in the 2012 Armenian parliamentary election on the

Republican Party of Armenia The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA, hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետական Կուսակցություն, ՀՀԿ; ''Hayastani Hanrapetakan Kusaktsutyun'', ''HHK'') is a national-conservative political party in Armenia led by the thir ...

electoral list. On 27 August 2015, Chairman Harutyunyan met with former

President of Armenia The president of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Նախագահ, Hayastani Nakhagah) is the head of state and the guarantor of independence and territorial integrity of Armenia elected to a single seven-year term by the National Assembly of Arm ...

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...

to discuss political issues in Armenia. In 2016, the party participated in municipal elections in the city of

Gyumri Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...

in an electoral alliance with the Republican Party of Armenia. During the 2022 Armenian protests, the party signed a joint declaration with 14 other political parties opposing the implementation of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement. The party does not maintain any representation within the National Assembly and currently acts as an

extra-parliamentary An extra-parliamentary opposition is a political movement opposed to a ruling government or political party that chooses not to engage in elections. Many social movements could be categorized as an extra-parliamentary opposition. Europe The Ger ...

force.

Ideology

The party supports strengthening regional security and stability, normalizing relations between Turkey and Armenia, reaching a fair settlement to the

Nagorno-Karabakh conflict The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians, and seven surrounding districts, inhabited mostly by Azerbaij ...

, supporting the gradual

European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...

of Armenia, and maintaining a strategic partnership with

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Following the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, the party supported the decision to maintain Russian peacekeepers in Artskah.

References

{{Armenian political parties Political parties established in 1991 Political parties in Armenia 1991 establishments in Armenia Christian democratic parties in Europe European Christian Political Movement

History

Ideology

See also

References