Armenia improves greatly, still remains a Semi-Consolidated Authoritarian RegimeMay 7, 2020 - 12:38 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia has earned the largest two-year improvement ever recorded in Freedom House’s Nations in Transit report, but continues remaining a Semi-Consolidated Authoritarian Regime. Based on the Democracy Score and its scale of 1 to 7, organization has defined the following regime types: Consolidated Authoritarian Regime (1.00–2.00), Semi-Consolidated Authoritarian Regime (2.01–3.00), Transitional/Hybrid Regime (3.01–4.00), Semi-Consolidated Democracy (4.01–5.00), Consolidated Democracy (5.01–7.00). Accordingly, Armenia’s score has climbed from 2.93 to 3.00 as a result of improvements in the electoral process and the corruption situation. The report says a motley crew of far-right, violent extremist groups have also been making their voices heard in countries as diverse as the Baltic states, Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Georgia, and Armenia: "While the groups and their xenophobic messages are not necessarily new, they have demonstrated a new level of cross-border cooperation and enjoyed increasing support from American and Western European counterparts." Despite their leaders’ choices, citizens’ yearning for democracy remains strong, the Washington-based NGO says. Major transformations driven by public demands for better governance have been underway in Armenia, and prime minister Nikol Pashinyan will now face the difficult challenge of managing expectations, maintaining trust, and restructuring corrupt systems without contravening democratic norms, says the report. The new government, it adds, has pursued significant, democratic reforms since crushing the old ruling party in that parliamentary elections. Also, Freedom House says, local concern over runoff from the planned Amulsar gold mine became a headache for Pashinyan, who inherited the project from the corrupt administration ousted by popular protests in 2018. Activists have blocked the mine’s approach road for months; they say Pashinyan will prove that he’s no different than the leaders he replaced if he greenlights the project. Top stories The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan has visited the southern Armenian province of Syunik, the Defense Ministry reported on March 18. Partner news | Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. Azerbaijan must respect human rights, Scholz tells Aliyev German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for greater respect for human rights in Azerbaijan. Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. |