Day of silence in Armenia
01.04.2017,
09:51
Today, one day ahead of April 2 elections to Armenia’s National Assembly is the so-called ‘day of silence.’
YEREVAN, April 1. /ARKA/. Today, one day ahead of April 2 elections to Armenia’s National Assembly is the so-called ‘day of silence.’ According to the Electoral Code, campaigning on the day of voting and on the day preceding it by means of public speeches, public events, as well as printed media, radio and television programs, including satellite broadcasting is prohibited. The ban is supposed to give voters time to think about their decision. The election campaign began on March 5 and ended on March 31 at 00:00.
These will be the first elections under an amended Constitution providing for the transition from a semi-presidential form of government to a parliamentary one. All the seats in the parliament will be contested under the proportional system (by party lists).
There are 13 electoral districts and 2009 polling stations in the country. According to the Central Election Commission and the police, the total number of voters exceeds 2.5 million.
Five parties and four blocs will be contesting the elections: the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, the Free Democrats, the Armenian Revival, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation/ Dashnaktsutyun and the Communist Party, as well as the blocs Yelk (Way out), Tsarukyan, Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanian and the Armenian National Congress- the People's Party of Armenia.
To get into the parliament parties have to collect at least 5% of all votes and blocks 7%. There is no threshold for voter turnout in Armenia.
Over 28,000 local observers from 49 public organizations and over 640 foreign observers representing six organizations - the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the European Parliament will be watching the polls. -0-
These will be the first elections under an amended Constitution providing for the transition from a semi-presidential form of government to a parliamentary one. All the seats in the parliament will be contested under the proportional system (by party lists).
There are 13 electoral districts and 2009 polling stations in the country. According to the Central Election Commission and the police, the total number of voters exceeds 2.5 million.
Five parties and four blocs will be contesting the elections: the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, the Free Democrats, the Armenian Revival, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation/ Dashnaktsutyun and the Communist Party, as well as the blocs Yelk (Way out), Tsarukyan, Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanian and the Armenian National Congress- the People's Party of Armenia.
To get into the parliament parties have to collect at least 5% of all votes and blocks 7%. There is no threshold for voter turnout in Armenia.
Over 28,000 local observers from 49 public organizations and over 640 foreign observers representing six organizations - the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the European Parliament will be watching the polls. -0-
