Home > 6.4 Special conditions to participate in the elections > ARMENIA - Joint Opinion on the Draf Electoral Code (As of 18 April 2016)
 
 
 
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Paragraph 106
 

Political diversity is important at both the local and national levels and it is difficult to justify higher thresholds at the local level than at the national level. The introduction of a majority bonus in local elections, together with the higher thresholds and the current impossibility to establish parties at the local level, may further reduce political diversity and negatively impact the formation of coalitions. It is therefore recommended to reduce the thresholds at the local level and to introduce the possibility of forming coalitions instead of establishing a majority bonus to a single party, like for parliamentary elections. It is unclear why the system for those three cities should have closed lists or why the party or alliance which gets over 40 per cent (but not an overall majority) should be given an artificial ‘absolute majority’. It is constitutionally mandated at the national level to give a stable parliamentary majority, but the same logic does not apply at the local level. A better correlation between the voters’ will and the actual results of the elections could reinforce the voters’ trust at the local level, improving accountability.