Polls open for Armenians to elect new parliament
02.04.2017,
06:54
Some 2,009 polling stations have opened today across Armenia at 8 am for citizens to elect a new National Assembly.
YEREVAN, April 2. /ARKA/ Some 2,009 polling stations have opened today across Armenia at 8 am for citizens to elect a new National Assembly. Under the new Electoral Code, the number of electoral districts has been reduced from 41 to 13, of which 4 are in Yerevan, and 9 in the regions. Voting will end at 20:00.
According to the police, there are 2,564,195 voters included in the voter registers. According to the National Statistical Service, Armenia’s permanent population as of January 1, 2017 stood at 2,986,500.
The information center at the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) will allow journalists to cover the election progress in a timely manner. The CEC will be providing updated information on voter turnout every three hours. There is no threshold for voter turnout. About 100 journalists from 31 foreign media outlets and hundreds of representatives of 81 local media have been registered for the elections.
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.
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.
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).
Under the new Constitution adopted in a 2015 December referendum, there is no strictly fixed number of members of parliament. It indicates only their minimum number – 101. This is because of a very complicated system of mandates distribution and a constitutional requirement that guarantees the formation of a stable parliamentary majority with 54% of seats in the legislature.
For the first time, the Constitution provides for the possibility of holding a second round of elections. In particular, according to the Electoral Code, if a stable majority is not formed on the basis of election results or through the formation of a political coalition, a second round can be held on the 28th day from the date of voting, in which two parties or two blocs that have received the largest number of the votes, will participate. The winner of the second round will receive additional mandates, which will ensure it a stable majority.
In addition to the nationwide party lists, there are also territorial (rating) lists of representatives of parties and blocs running for parliament. The parties and blocs receive mandates as a result of the distribution of seats among candidates included in the national and rating lists. -0-
According to the police, there are 2,564,195 voters included in the voter registers. According to the National Statistical Service, Armenia’s permanent population as of January 1, 2017 stood at 2,986,500.
The information center at the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) will allow journalists to cover the election progress in a timely manner. The CEC will be providing updated information on voter turnout every three hours. There is no threshold for voter turnout. About 100 journalists from 31 foreign media outlets and hundreds of representatives of 81 local media have been registered for the elections.
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.
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.
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).
Under the new Constitution adopted in a 2015 December referendum, there is no strictly fixed number of members of parliament. It indicates only their minimum number – 101. This is because of a very complicated system of mandates distribution and a constitutional requirement that guarantees the formation of a stable parliamentary majority with 54% of seats in the legislature.
For the first time, the Constitution provides for the possibility of holding a second round of elections. In particular, according to the Electoral Code, if a stable majority is not formed on the basis of election results or through the formation of a political coalition, a second round can be held on the 28th day from the date of voting, in which two parties or two blocs that have received the largest number of the votes, will participate. The winner of the second round will receive additional mandates, which will ensure it a stable majority.
In addition to the nationwide party lists, there are also territorial (rating) lists of representatives of parties and blocs running for parliament. The parties and blocs receive mandates as a result of the distribution of seats among candidates included in the national and rating lists. -0-
