YEREVAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th December, 2018) Snap parliamentary elections in Armenia are proceeding smoothly, Tigran Mukuchyan, the head of the country's Central Electoral Commission (CEC), told reporters on Sunday.
"At the moment, elections are taking place in a normal way," Mukuchyan said at a briefing at the CEC.
He noted that over 20,000 people had been included in local election commissions.
"All the necessary technical means are involved in the local election commissions. The problems arising with the technical equipment are resolved quickly," Mukuchyan said.
He added that 465 servicemen and diplomats residing abroad from 729 people on the lists for electronic voting had already voted via the internet.
On Sunday, snap parliamentary elections are held in Armenia for the first time in the country's history. Two blocks and nine parties take part in them. There is no turnout threshold, however, to enter the parliament, the party must secure more than 5 percent of the vote, and the block - more than 7 percent. At the same time, according to the law, at least three political forces must be represented in parliament.
On November 1, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian signed a decree to dissolve the parliament and set new elections to the legislative body for December 9. The parliament dissolution and new elections were one of the key demands of acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who seeks to renew the parliament and thus refresh the country's political system.
