Armenia held parliamentary elections in early May. The ruling Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) won a majority. However, the previous coalition split, with the Prosperous Armenia (BHK) party deciding not to join the new government.

The new parliament has now convened and ArmeniaNow is reporting that the government’s 5-year programme has been adopted. The interesting element of the report is that the programme was adopted by 75 votes to 47. The votes in favour came from the HHK and its small coalition partner, the Orinats Yerkir (Rule of Law) party. The other parties voted against. So, even though the government has a large majority, there is a ‘real’ opposition.

The website of the Armenian National Assembly records the number of deputies for each group. They are:

• HHK – 69 deputies
• BHK – 37
• Armenian National Congress (a mix of deputies) – 7
• Orinats Yerkir – 6
• Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun – Armenian socialist party) – 5
• Heritage (Heritage and Free Democrats) – 5
• Non-party – 2

So, it seems that the BHK’s move to an opposition party has had a real impact on the dynamics of the system.

The presidential election will be held next year.