As a result of the May 2003 parliamentary elections, 95 seats of the 131 in the National Assembly (75 elected on a proportional basis and 56 on a district-by-district majoritarian basis) went to generally pro-government parties or deputies. Since Orinats Yerkir pulled out of this loose governing coalition in May 2006, this coalition consists of deputies from the Republican and the ARF Dashnaksutyun parties plus several unaffiliated deputies who vote with the government bloc. These three parties also formed the coalition cabinet. The Speaker of the National Assembly, Artur Baghdassaryan, resigned his position on May 22, 2006. A new Speaker was expected to be elected within a month. Opposition parties secured 26 seats during the 2003 election. There are philosophical tensions within the opposition, but these parties tend to vote together on key legislative issues. The opposition includes both the Justice Bloc (organized by the People's Party of Armenia Chairman Stepan Demirchian) and the rival National Accord Party (headed by Artashes Geghamian).

The Government of Armenia's stated aim is to build a Western-style parliamentary democracy as the basis of its form of government. However, international observers have questioned the inherent fairness of parliamentary and presidential elections during each of the previous nationwide elections (1995, 1999, and 2003) as well as during the 2005 constitutional referendum, citing polling deficiencies, lack of cooperation by the electoral commission, poor maintenance of electoral lists, and access to polling places. The new constitution in 2005 increased the power of the legislative branch and allows for more independence of the judiciary; the executive branch nevertheless retains more power than most European countries.

The Government's human rights record remained poor in 2005; while there were some improvements in a few areas, serious problems remained. International and domestic observers noted the constitutional referendum was well below international standards, with serious irregularities. Serious irregularities also occurred during previous presidential and parliamentary elections. Security forces beat pretrial detainees. Impunity remained a problem. There were reports of arbitrary arrest and detention. Lengthy pretrial detention remained a problem. There were some limits on press freedom, due in part to self-censorship and denial of television broadcast licenses. The law places some restrictions on religious freedom. Societal violence against women was a problem. Trafficking of women and children was a problem, which the government took some steps to address.

Armenia's embassy in the U.S. is at 2225 R Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20008; tel: 202-319-1976; fax: 202-319-2984.