At stake in this election:

• The office of President of Armenia

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Levon Akopovich TER-PETROSSIAN
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Robert KOCHARIAN
• Assembly: Armenia has a unicameral National Assembly (Azgayin Zhoghov) with 131 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the president with the approval of the parliament.
• In the National Assembly (Azgayin Zhoghov), 75 members are elected through a party-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms and 56 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms.

Main Candidates in the Second Round of the Presidential race:

• Robert KOCHARIAN
  • Party: Independent
• Karen DEMIRCHIAN
  • Party: Civil Initiative (CI)

Main Candidates in the First Round of the Presidential race:

• Robert KOCHARIAN
  • Party: Independent
• Karen DEMIRCHIAN
  • Party: Civil Initiative (CI)
• Vazgen MANUKIAN
  • Party: National Democratic Union (NDU)
• Sergey BADALIAN
  • Party: Communist Party (CPRA)
• Paruir HAYRIKIAN
  • Party: N/A
• Other Candidates
  • Party: N/A

Last Presidential election:

• The last presidential election was held on September 22, 1996. Levon TER-PETROSIAN received 51.75% of the vote and thus defeated Vazgen MANUKIAN, his closest competitor with 41.29% of the vote.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 3,433,629 (July 1997 est.)
• Registered Voters: 2,293,636 ( 1998 )

Gender Data:

·         Female Population:1,652,676 (1998)

·         Is Armenia a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Armenia ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (13 September 1993)

·         Gender Quota: Yes

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 12 (1995)

·         Human Development Index Position: 85 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Armenia a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Armenia ratified CRPD: Yes (22 September 2010)

·         Population with a disability: 515,044 (est.)