Home > 4.1 Parliamentary elections > ARMENIA - Joint Opinion on the Draf Electoral Code (As of 18 April 2016)
 
 
 
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Paragraph 24
 

The National Assembly is elected by a complex system. In line with the Constitution, the electoral system in Armenia has changed from a mixed one to a mainly proportional one. There is a variable number of parliamentarians, which cannot be less than 101 (not including the minority representatives). The ballot paper includes one page with the national list and one page with the district candidates. The district candidates have to appear on the national list. The voter can, in addition to choosing a ballot with the list of the party, also give a preference vote to a district candidate. The seats are distributed between the parties nationally; then, half of the seats allocated to each party are distributed proportionally to the 13 district lists. The district seats are then allocated to candidates according to the number of preferences expressed by voters. The other half of the seats is allocated to candidates from the national list, in the order of the list. Moreover, the draft code introduces many deviations from a purely proportional system, including the following:


- Political parties have to overcome a threshold of 5 per cent and alliances a threshold of 7 per cent;


- There is a second round between the two most voted political parties or alliances if no party or alliance obtained a majority of the seats, unless a coalition with a majority of the mandates is formed;


- In line with the Constitution, the elections have to produce a "stable parliamentary majority". The Constitution does not define a "stable parliamentary majority." The draft electoral code provides for giving extra seats to the winning party (or alliance or coalition) in order to provide a majority with a margin of at least 54 per cent of the mandates;


- The smaller parties will be given extra seats, if the winning party or alliance gets more than 2/3 of the total number of mandates;


- The system awards a total of four extra seats to certain national minorities.