Politics of Armenia

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Political System of Armenia

Հայաստանի պետական համակարգ
Pashinyan government
LeaderPrime Minister
AppointerPresident
HeadquartersGovernment House
Ministries12
Judicial branch
NameJudiciary of Armenia
Constitutional Court of Armenia
Chief judgeHrayr Tovmasyan
SeatYerevan
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Հայաստան
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Politics of Armenia

Commonwealth of Independent States CIS Member State, Council of Europe CoE Member State

Constitution
Head of state
Executive
Legislature
Judiciary
Administrative divisions
Elections
Foreign relations
Related topics

The politics of Armenia take place in the framework of the

Legislative power is vested in both the Government and Parliament.[1][2][3]

History

Armenia became independent from the

Armenian SSR
, later also referred as the Second Republic of Armenia.

During the

assassination of Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan, parliament Speaker Karen Demirchyan and six other officials during parliament seating on 27 October 1999, a period of political instability ensued during which an opposition headed by elements of the former Armenian National Movement government attempted unsuccessfully to force Kocharyan to resign. In May 2000, Andranik Margaryan replaced Aram Sargsyan (a brother of assassinated Vazgen Sargsyan
) as Prime Minister.

Kocharyan's re-election as president in 2003 was followed by widespread allegations of ballot-rigging. He went on to propose controversial constitutional amendments on the role of

parliament
. There were mounting calls for the President's resignation in early 2004 with thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets in support of demands for a referendum of confidence in him.

The Government of Armenia's stated aim is to build a

parliamentary democracy. However, international observers have questioned the fairness of Armenia's parliamentary and presidential elections and constitutional referendum between 1995 and 2018, citing polling deficiencies, lack of cooperation by the Electoral Commission, and poor maintenance of electoral lists and polling places. Armenia is considered one of the most democratic nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the most democratic in the Caucasus region.[4]

The observance of human rights in Armenia is uneven and is marked by shortcomings. Police brutality allegedly still goes largely unreported, while observers note that defendants are often beaten to extract confessions and are denied visits from relatives and lawyers. Public demonstrations usually take place without government interference, though one rally in November 2000 by an opposition party was followed by the arrest and imprisonment for a month of its organizer. Freedom of religion is not always protected under existing law. Nontraditional churches, especially the Jehovah's Witnesses, have been subjected to harassment, sometimes violently. All churches apart from the Armenian Apostolic Church must register with the government, and proselytizing was forbidden by law, though since 1997 the government has pursued more moderate policies. The government's policy toward conscientious objection is in transition, as part of Armenia's accession to the Council of Europe.

Armenia boasts a good record on the protection of

National Assembly
. The government does not restrict internal or international travel.

Transition to a parliamentary republic

In December 2015, the country

semi-presidential to a parliamentary republic.[5]

As a result, the president was stripped of his

re-election is forbidden.[7]

Skeptics saw the constitutional reform as an attempt of third president Serzh Sargsyan to remain in control by becoming Prime Minister after fulfilling his second presidential term in 2018.[5]

In March 2018, the Armenian parliament elected

anti-government demonstrations.[9]

In June 2021, early parliamentary elections were held. Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Contract party won 71 seats, while 29 went to the Armenia Alliance headed by former President Robert Kocharyan. The I Have Honor Alliance, which formed around another former president, Serzh Sargsyan, won seven seats. After the election, Armenia's acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was officially appointed to the post of prime minister by the country's president Armen Sarkissian.[10] In January 2022, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian resigned from office, stating that the constitution does no longer give the president sufficient powers or influence.[11] On 3 March 2022, Vahagn Khachaturyan was elected as the fifth president of Armenia in the second round of parliamentary vote.[12]

Government

Main article: Government of Armenia
Main office-holders
Office Name Party Since
President Vahagn Khachaturyan Independent 13 March 2022
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan Civil Contract 8 May 2018

Legislative branch

Main article: National Assembly (Armenia)

The

legislative branch of the government of Armenia
.

Before the 2015 Armenian constitutional referendum, it was initially made of 131 members, elected for five-year terms: 41 members in single-seat constituencies and 90 by proportional representation.[13] The proportional-representation seats in the National Assembly are assigned on a party-list basis among those parties that receive at least 5% of the total of the number of the votes.

Following the 2015 referendum, the number of MPs was reduced from the original 131 members to 101 and single-seat constituencies were removed.[13]

Political parties and elections

Main articles: List of political parties in Armenia, Programs of political parties in Armenia, and Elections in Armenia

The electoral threshold is currently set at 5% for single parties and 7% for blocs.[14]

Latest national elections

Main article: 2021 Armenian parliamentary election
National Agenda Party
7190.060New
Total1,276,693100.00106–25
Valid votes1,276,69399.63
Invalid/blank votes4,6820.37
Total votes1,281,375100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,595,33449.37
Source: news.am, CEC, Hetq

Latest presidential elections

Main article: 2022 Armenian presidential election

Independent agencies

Independent of three traditional branches are the following

independent agencies, each with separate powers and responsibilities:[15]

Corruption

Main article: Corruption in Armenia

Transparency International's 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index ranked Armenia 58th

Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the subsequent protests against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan over a ceasefire deal".[17]

In 2008,

Vanuatu).[20]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Compared to the My Step Alliance.

References

  1. Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies. dss.ucsd.edu. United States: University of California, San Diego. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  2. OCLC 6895745903. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved 13 October 2017. Table 1 shows that dissolution power as a presidential initiative is rare in the contemporary president-parliamentary systems. In fact, only in Armenia may the president dissolve (once per year) without a trigger (e.g. assembly failure to invest a government).
  3. OCLC 6039792321
    . Retrieved 8 October 2017. Markarov discusses the formation and development of the semi-presidential system in Armenia since its foundation in 1991. The author identifies and compares the formal powers of the president, prime minister, and parliament under the 1995 Constitution as well as the amendments introduced through the Constitutional referendum in 2005. Markarov argues that the highly presidentialized semi-presidential system that was introduced in the early 1990s gradually evolved into a Constitutionally more balanced structure. However, in practice, the president has remained dominant and backed by a presidential majority; the president has thus been able to set the policy agenda and implement his preferred policy.
  4. ^ "Democracy Index 2022". Economist Intelligence Unit. Retrieved 2024-02-12.
  5. ^ a b Ayriyan, Serine (April 2016). "Armenia a gateway for Iranian goods?". Russia/CIS Riskwatch. ControlRisks. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  6. ^ "New constitution, old faces in Armenia". openDemocracy. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  7. ^ "Armenia: Constitutional Amendments to Be Put to a Referendum | Global Legal Monitor". www.loc.gov. 2015-10-29. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  8. ^ "Armenia: Armen Sarkissian elected into new, less powerful presidential role | DW | 02.03.2018". DW.COM.
  9. ^ "Pashinyan elected as Armenia's new prime minister". www.aljazeera.com.
  10. ^ "Nikol Pashinyan officially appointed Armenia's prime minister". The New Indian Express. 2 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Armenian president resigns over lack of influence". www.aljazeera.com.
  12. ^ "Vahagn Khachaturyan elected new Armenian president". www.aa.com.tr.
  13. ^ a b Staff, Weekly (2015-12-07). "Constitutional Amendments Approved in Armenia's Referendum". The Armenian Weekly. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  14. Open Democracy
    . Retrieved 2017-03-28.
  15. ^ "Armenia's Government Structure". www.atb.am.
  16. ^ "2021 Corruption Perceptions Index - Explore Armenia's results". Transparency.org. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  17. ^ a b "CPI 2020: Eastern Europe & Central Asia - News". Transparency.org.
  18. ^ Hub, Knowledge (2022-06-29). "Transparency International Knowledge Hub". Knowledge Hub. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  19. ^ Global Corruption Report 2008, Transparency International, Chapter 7.4, p. 225.
  20. ^ 2008 CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX Archived 2009-03-11 at the Wayback Machine, Transparency International, 2008.

External links

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