  Polls open in Armenia’s parliamentary elections April 2, 2017 - 08:09 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Polling stations opened across Armenia in parliamentary elections at 8:00am on Sunday, April 2, set to last 12 hours. Nine political forces, including 4 blocs and 5 parties are running for seats at the National Assembly - Republican, Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun, Armenian Renaissance, Free Democrats and Communist parties, as well as Tsarukyan, YELQ, ANC-PPA and Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanian blocs. A total of 1531 candidates are registered in the national list, with no ethnic minority representatives included. 10 days before elections, the police published the number of eligible voters which currently stands at 2,564,795. A number of international organizations and missions such as the OSCE/ODIHR, PACE, the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly and the European Parliament will observe the vote in addition to 49 local NGOs who operate in various areas. 89 Armenian and 31 international media outlets have been accredited in the central electoral commission and the foreign ministry, respectively. Among the international news agencies authorized to cover the elections are BBC, The Associated Press, AFP, Channel One Russia, RIA Novosti and TASS.   Top stories The Armenian Defense Ministry has denied Azerbaijan's accusations of violating the ceasefire. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan took to social media to thank his Lithuanian counterpart for the contribution. President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Achieving stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority of the OSCE, said Ian Borg.   Partner news |  Latest news EU, EAEU are incompatible, Russia tells Armenia  The arrival of extra-regional players in Armenia “will have consequences,” Russian Deputy PM Alexei Overchuk has said.Armenia top European Youth Team Chess Championships after Round 4 The Armenian national team top the standings at the European Youth Team Chess Championships 2024 on the Greek island of Rhodes.GAIFF: Tarsem Singh to preside over Regional Competition jury Tarsem Singh is perhaps best known to Armenian audiences as the author behind Lady Gaga’s 911 music video, inspired by the aesthetics of Sergei Parajanov.ICRC reps visit Armenians held in Azerbaijan The staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross have visited Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians currently being held in Azerbaijan. |
