V.

Government of Armenia

Armenia’s constitution was approved by referendum in July 1995, replacing the 1978 constitution of the Soviet period. It declares Armenia to be an independent democratic state and guarantees the protection of basic human rights and freedoms. All citizens age 18 and older may vote.

A.

Executive

The new constitution gave the president, who is head of state, broad executive powers. He or she is elected by direct vote for a term of five years and may serve no more than two consecutive terms. The president appoints the prime minister, who presides over the council of ministers. The council’s members are appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the prime minister.

B.

Legislature

Armenia’s parliament, called the National Assembly, is a unicameral (single-chamber) legislative body. The National Assembly is composed of 131 members who are elected for four-year terms.

C.

Judiciary

Armenia’s 1995 constitution provides for an independent judiciary. The highest appellate court is the Court of Appeal, which ensures uniformity in how the country’s laws are applied through its final review of cases. The Court of Appeal’s members are nominated by the Council of Justice, an administrative body created to ensure independence of the courts, and then appointed by the president. Armenia also has a Constitutional Court, which is charged with ensuring that legislative decisions and presidential decrees are consistent with the constitution. Of the Constitutional Court’s nine members, five are appointed by the president and four by the National Assembly. The president of Armenia heads the Council of Justice. The minister of justice and the prosecutor general serve as deputy heads of the council.

D.

Local Government

For purposes of local government, Armenia is divided into ten marz (regions), including Yerevan. The regions are subdivided into hamaynk (communities). The National Assembly appoints and dismisses governors to administer the regions in accordance with national policies. The communities exercise local self-government. They hold local elections every three years to select a community leader.

E.

Political Parties

Armenia’s constitution guarantees a multiparty political system. Many new political parties have emerged since Armenia’s independence in 1991, although some have been relatively short-lived. Armenia held its first post-Soviet parliamentary elections in 1995. The Republican bloc, a coalition led by the Pan-Armenian National Movement (PNM), won an overwhelming majority of seats. The PNM, which had controlled the government since 1990, thereby retained its dominant position. A number of opposition parties were not allowed to participate in the 1995 elections, including the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF; also known as Dashnaks, a shortened version of its name in Armenian), which had been the ruling party during Armenia’s short-lived independence from 1918 to 1920. The PNM-led government had banned the ARF in December 1994. The ARF was legally reinstated in 1998 after President Levon Ter-Petrossian, leader of the PNM, resigned. His political downfall also led to the end of the PNM’s dominance in the 1999 parliamentary elections.

F.

Defense

Before Armenia gained independence in 1991, its military forces were part of the Soviet Union’s centralized security system. In the early 1990s the Armenian government began to develop a small, combat-ready defense force. Armenia’s objective of military self-reliance places an emphasis on small, highly mobile, and well-trained units. The number of soldiers on active duty has surpassed the initial goal of 30,000, with an estimated 48,160 troops in 2004. Armenia also has a paramilitary force of about 1,000 troops. Military conscription is for 18 months for all males at the age of 18. An estimated 4,300 troops under Russia’s jurisdiction are stationed in Armenia in accordance with the collective security system of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a loose alliance of most of the former Soviet republics.

G.

International Organizations

Armenia is a member of the CIS, the United Nations (UN), and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). In October 1994 the country joined the Partnership for Peace program, which provides for limited military cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).