Armenia Hayastan
Armenia
Newspapers, with the exception of Hayastani Hanrapetutyun (a joint venture between Parliament and its staff) and Respublica Armenia (which ceased publication in June), are privately owned. The state printing house and distribution agency both now function as commercial enterprises, with no visible government intervention. ... Armenia has a Constitution that provides for the separation of powers; however, the directly elected President has extensive powers of appointment and decree that are not balanced by the legislature or an independent judiciary. The President appoints the Prime Minister, who is in charge of the Cabinet. Robert Kocharian was elected President in a multi-candidate election in 1998 after former President Levon Ter-Petrossian was forced to resign by his former political allies in the Government and Parliament. There were flaws in both rounds of the 1998 presidential elections. Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observers witnessed very substantial irregularities and concluded that the elections seriously challenged international democratic norms in regard to most key criteria. These irregularities inflated the number of votes for Kocharian. Nonetheless, the 1998 elections, the May 1999 Parliamentary and October 1999 municipal elections, and several 2000 by-elections ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
Armenia—“Hayastan” in Armenian—is a republic. On 5 July 1995 the current constitution was adopted through a national referendum. ... [Read More]
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