Armenia elections: Race for parliamentary seats heats up

PanARMENIAN.Net - A week before elections to the Armenian National Assembly, competition between leading parties - Tsarukyan bloc (22%) and the Republican Party of Armenia (21%) - has intensified, a new poll suggests.

The survey involving 1600 residents of Armenia was conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center.

In the upcoming elections on April 2, however, Armenians will not vote for parties, but rather candidates by electoral districts in a ranked system of voting.

If party ratings are calculated based on support for candidates in each district, the Republican Party of Armenia comes out on top.

Also, 87% of those participating in the survey said they have confidence in Tsarukyan bloc leader Gagik Tsarukyan, while high level of trust (84%) towards prime minister Karen Karapetyan provides a strong boost to RPA.

In a month immediately following the first stage of the poll, chances for small parties to enter the parliament have also changed.

According to new data, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun overcomes the 5% barrier, while YELQ bloc and the Armenian Renaissance party are on the verge of overcoming the threshold (for electoral blocs the barrier stands at 7%).