Armenia is a parliamentary republic and executive power is divided between the president as head of state and the prime minister as head of government. Both are elected by the parliament. The parliament is elected every five years and has at least 101 seats but can be larger depending on the outcome of the elections.

The Constitution of the Republic of Armenia was amended two times after the first adoption in 1995. These amendments were necessary both for internal and external reasons, for instance, to comply with regulations after joining the Council of Europe. Within the country, there was a conflict between the supporters of a presidential system and those who supported a parliamentary democracy. Although Armenia had a presidential system in 1995, this was changed to a semi-presidential and later to a parliamentary system with the adoption of the two amendments. Parliament's ability to scrutinise the government has been significantly strengthened by these reforms, for example with the possibility of a constructive vote of no confidence. This, however, requires a robust opposition to function, the existence of which has been debated in the past.

Azatyan (2019, p. 169) argues, that the Velvet Revolution fundamentally changed the political culture in Armenia. While trust in the state and the government was low prior to the revolution, the influence of the peaceful protests resulted in a new legitimacy for these institutions.

Sources: Azatyan (2019)