2018, parliament elected opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan as the new prime minister. His predecessor Serzh Sargsyan resigned two weeks earlier following widespread anti-government demonstrations. In June 2021, early parliamentary elections were held. Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Contract party won 71 seats, while 29 went to a bloc headed by former President Robert Kocharyan. A different bloc that formed around another former president, Serzh Sargsyan, won seven seats. After the election, Armenia's acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was officially appointed to the post of prime minister by the country's president Armen Sarkissian. In January 2022, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian resigned from office, stating that the constitution does no longer give the president sufficient powers or influence. On 3 March 2022, Vahagn Khachaturyan was elected as the fifth president of Armenia in the second round of parliamentary vote. Government |President |Vahagn Khachaturyan |Independent |13 March 2022 |- |Prime Minister |Nikol Pashinyan |Civil Contract |8 May 2018 |} Legislative branch The unicameral National Assembly of Armenia (Azgayin Zhoghov) is the legislative branch of the government of Armenia. Before the 2015 Armenian constitutional referendum, it was initially made of 131 members, elected for five-year terms: 41 members in single-seat constituencies and 90 by proportional representation. The proportional-representation seats in the National Assembly are assigned on a party-list basis among those parties that receive at least 5% of the total of the number of the votes. Following the 2015 referendum, the number of MPs was reduced from the original 131 members to 101 and single-seat constituencies were removed. Political parties and elections The electoral threshold is currently set at 5% for single parties and 7% for blocs. Latest national elections Latest presidential elections Independent agencies Independent of three traditional branches are the following independent agencies, each with separate powers and responsibilities: the Constitutional Court of Armenia the Central Electoral Commission of Armenia the Human Rights Defender of Armenia the Central Bank of Armenia the General Prosecutor's Office the Audit Chamber of Armenia Corruption Transparency International's 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index ranked Armenia 58th out of 180 in the world with 49 points (the same amount of points as 2020), this has pushed the country up from being ranked at 60th in 2020. According to Transparency International, Armenia has improved significantly on the Corruption Perception Index since 2012 especially since the 2018 revolution, the country has taken steps to counter corruption. Further mentioning that "Armenia has taken a