| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Azgayin Zhoghov / National Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
12 May 2007 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all the seats in the National Assembly on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
Elections were held in May 2007
one month after Mr. Serzh Sargsyan of the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) became Prime Minister following the sudden death of the incumbent
Mr. Andranik Margarian.
In the last elections held in 2003
which were marred by allegations of electoral fraud
the HHK won 33 seats
while its partners
the Orinats Yerkir (Rule of Law Party) and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun)
took 19 and 11 seats respectively. The main opposition Artarutiun (Justice) Bloc took 14. The remainder went to small parties and independent candidates
who won 37 seats under the majority system. A coalition government was formed with the HHK and the Orinats Yerkir.
In May 2006
the Orinats Yerkir left the coalition. Its leader
Mr. Artur Baghdasaryan
resigned as Speaker of the National Assembly over growing differences with President Robert Kocharian.
In the 2007 elections
22 political parties and one coalition totaling 1
497 candidates were running for the 90 seats available under the proportional representation system (see note)
while 119 candidates contested the 41 seats under the first-past-the-post system.
The three main pro-government parties were Prime Minister Sargsyan's HHK; the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) led by a wealthy businessman Mr. Gagik Tsarukian; and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation led by Mr. Hrant Markarian. The three parties pledged to ensure the supremacy of the law
poverty reduction
support for business and an increase in pensions.
The opposition remained divided after talks over the formation of an electoral coalition
led by Mr. Stepan Demirchian's People's Party of Armenia (HZhK)
collapsed in February 2007. The HZhK criticized the government for failing to improve the quality of life in rural areas and pledged to reconsider the country's administrative divisions. The Heritage Party
led by former foreign minister
Mr. Raffi K. Hovannisian
insisted on the need for further European integration.
The opposition parties accused the pro-government parties of collecting voters passport data in exchange for bribes or welfare benefits.
Approximately 60 per cent of the 2.2 million registered voters turned out at the polls. Fewer violent incidents were reported than in 2003
although several election-related complaints were filed. The opposition parties called for fresh elections
criticizing election irregularities.
Six international organizations monitored the polls. These included the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and a joint Observation Mission of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) - OSCE
the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the European Parliament. The joint mission initially stated that the elections had largely met international standards. However
its final report expressed grave concerns over irregularities related to vote counting and tabulation.
Final results gave a comfortable majority to the three pro-government parties. The HHK won a total of 65 seats
the PAP 25
and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
16. In all
12 women were elected.
The newly elected National Assembly held its first session on 7 June and re-elected Mr. Tigran Torosyan (HHK) as its Speaker.
In the meantime
on 6 June
the HHK and the PAP agreed on a collation government and on 8 June
President Kocharian signed a decree appointing Mr. Sargsyan as Prime Minister.
Note:
Following modifications to the electoral law in 2005
90 members were elected under the proportional representation system in 2007
instead of 75 in the previous elections. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 12 May 2007 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
2'319'722
1'391'540 (59.99%)
38'002
1'353'538 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
PR |
Majority |
|
|
| Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) |
65
|
41 |
24 |
|
|
| Prosperous Armenia Party |
25
|
18 |
7 |
|
|
| Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutiun) |
16
|
16 |
0 |
|
|
| Orinats Yerkir (Rule of Law Party) |
9
|
8 |
1 |
|
|
| Independents |
8
|
0 |
8 |
|
|
| Heritage Party (HP) |
7
|
7 |
0 |
|
|
| Dashink Party |
1
|
0 |
1 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
119
12
9.16%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
21 to 30 years
31 to 40 years
41 to 50 years
51 to 60 years
61 to 70 years
|
1
28
59
33
10
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
| Engineers/PC experts |
36 |
| Economists |
32 |
| Scientists and researchers |
17 |
| Legal professions |
13 |
| Farmers/agricultural workers (including wine growers) |
12 |
| Liberal professions (including artists
authors) and sports professionals |
7 |
| Medical professions (doctors
dentists
nurses) |
6 |
| Educators |
4 |
| Military/police officers |
2 |
| Media-related professions (journalists/publishers) |
1 |
| Business/trade/industry employees
including executives |
1 |
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- http://www.elections.am/
- National Assembly (06.06.2007
10.03.2008
29.09.2008
01.01.2010
11.01.2012)
Note on the number of women:
None of the five women who contested seats in the first-past-the-post system were elected
while 12 women were elected under the proportional representation system. As at 29 September 2008
there were 11 women. |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
