page_title: Stepanakert
section_title: Politics and government
hierarchical_section_title: Stepanakert / Politics and government
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Plac Odrodzenia. Stepanakert/Xankəndi, Górski Karabach. English: Renaissance Square. Stepanakert/Xankəndi, Nagorno-Karabakh. Русский: Площадь Возрождения. Степанакерт/Ханкенди, Нагорный Карабах.
context_page_description: Stepanakert, Khankendi and originally called Vararakn, is the capital and the largest city of the de facto Republic of Artsakh. The Republic has no international recognition, being deemed part of the Republic of Azerbaijan by all countries. As of 2015, the population of Stepanakert is 55,200.
context_section_description: During the period of the USSR, Stepanakert served as the capital of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast within the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, between 1923 and 1991. With the self-declared independence of Artsakh in 1991, Stepanakert continued with its status as the political and cultural centre of the newly established republic, being home to all the national institutions: the Government House, the National Assembly, the Presidential Palace, the Constitutional Court, all ministries, judicial bodies and other government organizations.
  Artsakh is a presidential democracy since the 2017 constitutional referendum. The Prime Minister's post was abolished and the executive power now resides with the President, who is both the head of state and head of government. The president is directly elected for a maximum of two consecutive five-year terms. The current President is Bako Sahakyan. On 19 July 2012, Sahakyan was re-elected for a second term. He was again re-elected to a third term on 19 July 2017.
  The National Assembly is a unicameral legislature. It has 33 members who are elected for five-year terms.
caption: National Assembly
exif: {}