Presidential Electoral Law and Democratic Transformation: Tentative Conclusions from Armenia and Georgia

Abstract

In recent years, Armenia and Georgia have carried out constitutional reforms bringing about a radical change in their respective political systems with a shift to a parliamentary model of government. To permanently democratize both countries, the role of presidents in political systems was weakened and their election was introduced indirectly. The paper discusses the main elements of presidential electoral law in both countries with their main similarities and differences. In Armenia, the president is elected by the parliament, while in Georgia by a special electoral body. The following paper argues that the constitutional reforms in both countries are intended to prevent crises of power caused by an excessive concentration of power in the hands of presidents, although the reforms do not provide a guarantee of genuine democratisation and authoritarstability of governments. The possible outcomes of the reforms can be different: in Armenia – the increase of the dependence of the president on the main political parties, in Georgia – strengthening his independence.