Armenia is a small country located in the mountainous Caucasus region in Asia, close to Europe. It was once part of the Soviet Union until it voted to become independent in 1991 after the Unions fall. It is known for having some of the earliest Christian civilizations and so is defined by its many old religious landmarks. The country is landlocked, bordered between Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan—with which it has went to war with—and a small part of Iran. Armenia’s capital city is Yerevan, known for its Soviet era architecture and cultural landmarks and history, such as the Matenadaran library which houses thousands of Armenian and Greek manuscripts. As of 2017 the country’s population is coming up to 3 million. The currency it uses is called the Armenian Dram, which = 1 Dram to 0.0017 Pound Sterling or 0.0021 US Dollars.
Note: Featured Photo Map from Google Maps. I edited on Flag that is in Public Domain.
Tensions remain between Armenia and Azerbaijan over a piece of land within Azerbaijan known as Nagorno-Karabakh, which is currently autonomous but with an Armenian ethnic majority. A devastating war took place between Azerbaijan and the autonomous region, which was also backed by Armenia. A ceasefire was eventually reached after Armenia begun pushing into Azerbaijan’s territory and Nagorno-Karabakh remains a self-governing land within Azerbaijan to this day, but tensions remain between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the war and flare-ups between the two sides sometimes take place.
Government Type
Armenia is a parliamentary representative democratic republic and it adopted its latest constitution that lays out the basis of how government functions, in 1995 and amendments were made in 2005 and 2015. Its government type means it has both an elected President and appointed Prime Minister and an elected Unicameral parliament (one equal house that debates and passes legislation and other functions.) made up of members either independent or from organized political parties. Coalitions of parties and members may often be necessary to form a working government and keep the Prime Minister in power.
The Executive Government
The executive government includes the President who is Head of State and the Prime Minister, who is Head of Government and appointed by the President, a candidate nominated by the National Assembly after Parliamentary Elections. The President represents the country abroad and over-looks the functionating of government both executive and legislative, while the Prime Minister runs the executive government.
The President is elected to a 7-year term (originally a 5-year term, but changed to 7 in the 2015 amendment, which some have viewed as corrupt). By the constitution the President must be independent and not part of any political parties. The President’s powers include the ability to address parliament, signing legislation passed by the National Assembly into law, make changes to government on advice from the Prime Minister, recall and appoint diplomatic representatives, revoke or suspend international treaties that don’t require ratification on recommendation from the government. On Armed Forces the President can appoint or dismiss the supreme command of the armed forces or of other troops and confer ranks. Can decide on granting and termination of citizenship. Can grant pardons for crimes. Temporarily appoint officials if a body fails to. Decree executive orders. Appoint deputy prime ministers and other ministers on advice from the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister heads the government and helps to implement and determine agenda and policy alongside deputy prime ministers and other ministers. He or she is charged with submitting the Programme of the Government to the National Assembly to be accepted, non-acceptance may lead to another Prime Minister being elected and appointed or may even lead to dissolving of National Assembly and new elections. The Prime Minister is also head of the Security Council.
The Legislative Government
The Unicameral Parliament, called the National Assembly has at least 101 members, but more than that may be elected based on the additional members system used. Members are elected to 5-year terms in parliamentary elections. Currently there are 131 members. The National Assembly is charged with debating and passing legislation to be signed into law by the President, supervising the executive government and adopting the state’s budget. Based on the 2015 constitutional amendment, the National Assembly will act as a College of Elector’s to nominate candidates for President and elect one, of which may take multiple rounds until a candidate gets at least three-fourths of the vote.
The National Assembly is overlooked by a Chairperson and three deputies, all elected by the house with at least one deputy elected from the opposition. These people make sure rules are followed within the house and that sessions are kept under control. The chairperson will also set up a council including the deputies and other representatives and chairpersons of committees to decide on agenda for sessions of the National Assembly.
As long as the constitution allows, by recommendation of the government the National Assembly can ratify, suspend and revoke international treaties. On recommendation from the government the house can also declare war or establish peace unless it is impossible for the house to sit, in which the government will instead decide itself. The National Assembly can also lift or cancel the implementation of martial law or state of emergency if they do not believe it is necessary or is no longer necessary.
The National Assembly can also remove the President from office for crimes, treason or constitutional violation, based on the opinion from the Constitutional court. Members require a two-third vote for removal. The National Assembly can also put forth a motion of no-confidence against the Prime Minister.
The National Assembly confirms appointments of judges for the Constitutional Court. The court has 9 judges that serve for 12-year terms. Three judges are recommended by the President, three judges recommended by the government and another three recommended by the General Assembly of Judges.
Interesting Fact – The Constitution states that At least fifty thousand citizens having the right of suffrage shall be entitled to propose, upon popular initiative, a draft law to the National Assembly. Chapter 4 – Article 109 of Armenia’s Constitution.
The Electoral System
The President is elected to a 7-year term by the National Assembly, with a nominated candidate getting at least three-fourths of the vote, which may take several rounds. A person can serve as President for the max of two terms (14 years). Nominees must be at least 40 years old, hold Armenian citizenship for at least six years, have the right of suffrage and must be able to speak the country’s language.
The National Assembly’s members are elected every 5-years by vote of the people in Parliamentary elections. Half are elected from closed lists based on the nation-wide result and the other half are elected from open-lists elected from 13 electoral districts/constituencies. Voting is by proportional representation and parties need at least 5% of the vote and blocs at least 7% to be included in mandate distribution. The number elected fluctuates anywhere from 101 or more due to the presence of an additional member system that allocates extra seats to make the results more proportional, also if a party or bloc gets more than 2/3 mandate, any additional mandate is allocated to opposition parties to ensure that at least 1/3 of all seats are not just held by winning parties. A 2nd round of the election is held within 6 days if no party got more than 50% of the mandate and subsequently failed to form a governing coalition.
Once the National Assembly is elected, they will nominate a Prime Minister who will then be appointed by the President.
Thank you for reading this and I hope you learned something and/or enjoyed this blogpost. Next up will be Australia!
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