A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ELECTORAL PROCESSES IN ARMENIA AND GEORGIA
Keywords:
electoral systems, Parliament, majoritarian voting syste, Armenia, GeorgiaAbstract
This article compares the majoritarian electoral systems in Armenia and Georgia. Since gaining independence, both countries experimented with different electoral systems, which has led to the ongoing debate over which is the best model. The majoritarian electoral model is oftentimes criticized in both countries. This paper discusses the major characteristics of this model and concludes that despite the existence of some obvious problems, political elites are often reluctant to change the system because it guarantees significant political gains in elections; changes can only take place in the context of a broad reform initiative, such as the constitutional reform in Armenia, or when elections are postponed for some unclear reasons, as seen in Georgia
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