SHARECountry Data
Armenia (Republic of Armenia) has a Unicameral parliament with legislated quotas for the single/lower house. 36 of 107 (34%) seats in the Azgayin Zhoghov / National Assembly are held by women.
At a glance
Structure of Parliament: Unicameral
Are there legislated quotas...
- For the Single/Lower House? Yes
- For the Sub-National Level? No
Are there voluntary quotas...
- Adopted by political parties? No
Is there additional information?...
- Yes
Last updated: Sep 6, 2021
Single/Lower House
Azgayin Zhoghov / National Assembly
| Total seats | 107 |
| Total Women | 36 |
| % Women | 34% |
| Election Year | 2021 |
| Electoral System | List PR |
| Quota Type | Legislated Candidate Quotas |
| Election details | IDEA Voter Turnout - IPU Parline |
| Legal source | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| Quota type: Legislated Candidate Quotas | Constitution | |
| Electoral law | Armenia’s Parliament is composed of 41 seats elected through 41 single-member constituencies and 90 seats contested through a proportional representation system on a nationwide list. The number of persons of each sex shall not exceed 80 % of any integer group of five candidates starting from the second number of the electoral list (2–6, 2–11, 2–16 and so on up to the end of the list) of a political party or alliance of political parties and of each party included in an alliance for the National Assembly election under the proportional electoral system’(Article 108 (2), Electoral Code of Armenia, 2011). |
|
| Legal sanctions for non-compliance | Electoral law | The Central Electoral Commission shall reject the registration of the electoral list of a political party, or an alliance of political parties, if the electoral list does not meet the requirements defined by Article 108 (2), including the legislated candidate quota (Article 110). |
| Rank order/placement rules | Electoral law | ‘The number of persons of each sex shall not exceed 80 % of any integer group of five candidates starting from the second number of the electoral list (2–6, 2–11, 2–16 and so on up to the end of the list) of a political party or alliance of political parties and of each party included in an alliance for the National Assembly election under the proportional electoral system’ (Article 108, (2), Electoral Code of Armenia, 2011). |
| Is the provision of direct public funding to political parties related to gender equality among candidates? | No | See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
| Are there provisions for other financial advantages to encourage gender equality in political parties? | No | See more in International IDEA's Political Finance database |
Additional Information
The first quota legislation was adopted in 1999 and required that political party lists of candidates for the proportional representation election contain no less than 5 per cent female candidates. In the 2003 elections, seven women were elected (5.3 per cent), but one was designated as a cabinet minister, leaving six women in parliament (3.8 per cent). For the 2007 parliamentary elections, the required gender quota provision was increased to 15 per cent but 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. The current quota system was introduced in 2011 and was applied to the 2012 parliamentary elections, introducing the improved ranking order requirement and thus helping to position women candidates evenly across candidate lists.
The statutory number decreased from 131 to 101 in accordance with the Constitutional amendments were adopted in a referendum in December 2015 and a new electoral code came into force in July 2016. Up to four minority representatives may be elected.
The gender quota plans to be changed in 2021 to guarantee that, at least, 1 in 3 (33%) are women.
Sources
LEGAL SOURCES:
- Electoral Code of Armenia, 2011 (English version)
OTHER SOURCES:
- Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, ‘Republic of Armenia, Parliamentary Elections, 6 May 2012’, Election Observation Mission Final Report
- Armenia's New Electoral Code: Part III. Quotas for Women and Ethnic Minorities. (EVN Report).
Additional reading
- Asian Development Bank (2019).Armenia Country Gender Assessment
- UNDP (Ongoing project 2021)."Women in Politics Armenia"
- Inter-Parliamentary Union. 1997. Men and Women in Politics: Democracy Still in the Making, A World Comparative Study. Geneva: Inter-Parliamentary Union
- Armenian Parliament website, http://www.parliament.am