Type: Republic.
Constitution: Approved in July 1995 referendum, amended in November 2005.
Independence: 1918 (First Armenian Republic); 1991 (from Soviet Union).
Branches: Executive--president (head of state) with wider powers relative to other branches, prime minister (head of the ministerial cabinet). Legislative--unicameral National Assembly (parliament). Judicial-- Constitutional Court (constitutional matters exclusively); Court of Cassation, Appeals Courts (Civil and Criminal), Courts of First Instance.
Administrative subdivisions: 10 marzes (regions) and capital Yerevan.
Political parties represented in the National Assembly: Republican Party of Armenia, Prosperous Armenia, Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun (ARF), Country of Law (Orinats Yerkir), and the Heritage Party. Other political parties and movements include: the Armenian National Congress, People's Party of Armenia, Free Democrats Party, Republic Party, Armenian National Movement, and dozens of other registered parties, many of which become active only during national campaigns, if at all.
Suffrage: Universal at 18.
