Armenia's National Democratic Governance Rating Declines According to Freedom House

Armenia has recorded a decline in its national democratic governance rating, dropping from 2.50 to 2.25 in the prestigious Freedom House report, Nations in Transit 2024. According to the report, "The national democratic governance rating decreased from 2.50 to 2.25 due to the consolidation of power by the executive, the long-standing trend of central authorities dismissing opposition mayors, and the lack of transparency in the ruling party's finances. As a result, Armenia's democracy score fell from 3.11 to 3.07," the authors noted.

The report highlights that the deterioration of the security situation in Armenia has exacerbated the political polarization between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s ruling Civil Contract party and the opposition, disrupting substantial dialogue on critical issues. "According to the report, the municipal elections in Yerevan were a significant political event in 2023 and could be viewed as a test of confidence between the previous national legislative vote in 2021 and the upcoming elections in 2026... The electoral process received mostly positive assessments from local and international observers. However, it was also marked by unprecedented levels of administrative resource misuse by the ruling party since the 'Velvet Revolution.'"

Despite the revolution's major achievements including the separation of politics from big business and oligarchs, 2023 displayed troubling signs of regression in that area. In particular, two separate investigative reports shed light on the lack of transparency regarding the funding sources of the Civil Contract party. Of particular concern is that law enforcement agencies did not find the Civil Contract guilty of illegal actions, while Pashinyan apologized but stated that his party did not violate any laws," the report states.

The authors noted that while reforms implemented by some authorities ensure effective regulations, they often fail to achieve their goals due to poor or inconsistent implementations.