Freedom House: Armenia democracy declines for first time since 2018April 28, 2021 - 15:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia's democracy score has declined for the first time since the "velvet revolution" in 2018, Freedom House said in a fresh Nations in Transit report, called "The Antidemocratic Turn". In particular, the country's score declined from 3.00 to 2.96, and it still remains a Semi-Consolidated Authoritarian Regime. Neighboring Georgia is a Transitional Government or Hybrid Regime, while Azerbaijan is a Consolidated Authoritarian Regime. The report says the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh has triggered a domestic crisis in Armenia that risks undoing the success of the 2018 Velvet Revolution. "The country’s democracy score declined for the first time since the revolution, and developments to date this year, including tensions between the military and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, demonstrate that the situation could grow worse," Freedom House said. In the 2020 report, Armenia earned the largest two-year improvement ever recorded in Freedom House’s Nations in Transit report. The country's score climbed from 2.93 to 3.00 as a result of improvements in the electoral process and the corruption situation. Top stories The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Yerevan City Council has elected Tigran Avniyan from the ruling Civil Contract as the mayor of the Armenian capital. The Armenian Parliament on Tuesday, October 3 voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Partner news | PACE wants concessions from Azerbaijan to accept Baku back A PACE co-rapporteur said that Azerbaijani authorities must make certain concessions so that the country can return to PACE. Azerbaijan razes historic Armenian church to ground Azerbaijan has demolished the historic Armenian Church of St. John the Baptist (known as Kanach Zham). Turkey extends military presence in Azerbaijan The Turkish parliament has adopted a bill submitted by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to extend the mandate of Turkish troops. Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skills |