On April 2nd Armenians took to the ballots to cast their votes in a parliamentary election. It was the first vote since the recent constitutional reform which changed the country’s system from a presidential to parliamentary one. From now on, the president, whose mandate has been substantially reduced according to the reform will be chosen by the parliament for a seven-year term with no possibility of re-election.

For the past couple of days the situation in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, has been tense. A group of armed men has held four policemen hostage in one of the capital’s police stations.  The building was taken over on July 17th and the perpetrators referred to their actions as a revolution and requested the release of their oppositional associates serving prison terms or under investigation. They have also called for the overthrow of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.