Citizens of Armenia will be heading to the polls on April 2 to vote in a new parliament. This election is significant because it is the first one since the adoption of a new Constitution following a nationwide referendum in December 2015. Under the new Constitution, the country’s system of governance will shift from a presidential to a parliamentary one.

The new system will come into force at the end of the current president’s tenure in 2018. Moving forward, the president will be elected by parliament for a seven-year term and his/her position will be mostly ceremonial. The prime minister will now have sweeping executive powers and serve as the supreme commander of the armed forces. The number of members of parliament will be reduced from 131 to 101 and they will be elected by proportional representation.

Under the new Electoral Code, which was passed by parliament following the adoption of the new Constitution, there will be 13 electoral districts - four in the capital Yerevan and nine covering the rest of the country.

Each political party or bloc taking part in the elections will have one national electoral list of candidates, including one district electoral list for each district (up to 15 candidates in each district electoral list depending on population rates). In order to secure seats in parliament, political parties will have to pass a minimum five percent threshold and blocs will require a minimum seven percent threshold.