Armenian Prime Minister's Party Wins Parliamentary Election
Theo Al Jazeera
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Contract party won Armenia's parliamentary election with 49.81% of the vote, according to preliminary results. The vote tested his shift away from Russia and toward the West.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Contract party won Armenia's parliamentary election, according to preliminary results released on Monday. The vote was seen as a test of his handling of a peace deal with Azerbaijan and his growing tilt toward the West and away from traditional ally Russia.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) said Pashinyan's party garnered 49.81% of the vote. The opposition-led Strong Armenia alliance came second with 23.29%.
Voter turnout in the landlocked country of about 3 million people exceeded 58% of eligible voters, the CEC reported.
The Armenian prime minister sought a mandate to reorient the country's geopolitics, moving away from former dominant power Russia and pushing toward European Union membership.
Pashinyan called it a "historic victory that will ensure Armenia's existence and development." He pledged to "continue the process of rapprochement with the West" while also developing Armenia's ties with Russia.
The second-place Strong Armenia alliance is led by Samvel Karapetyan, an Armenian-born billionaire residing in Russia who amassed his fortune there and is now under house arrest on charges of calling for the overthrow of the government. He has dismissed the charge as politically motivated.
Karapetyan called the election "shameful" and alleged violations and repression, saying dozens of his campaign workers had been detained. Armenia's Investigative Committee said it had opened 59 criminal cases related to alleged election violations and detained nine people.
According to the CEC, two other opposition forces—the Armenia alliance of former President Robert Kocharyan and the Prosperous Armenia party—also cleared the electoral threshold to enter parliament, winning 9.9% and 4% of the vote respectively.
Pashinyan's party did not secure the two-thirds parliamentary majority needed to call a constitutional referendum as required under the peace deal with Azerbaijan—which has been in intermittent conflict with Armenia since the late 1980s—and to normalize relations with Turkey, a key Azerbaijani ally. The final distribution of seats remains unclear.
Pashinyan has suspended participation in the Russia-led security bloc while tightening ties with the EU and U.S., putting Armenia on a path toward possible EU membership. Moscow has shown unease at the prospect of losing another ally in its backyard.
Last May, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: "We all see what is happening with Ukraine now… How did it start? It started with Ukraine's attempt to join the EU."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Pashinyan on the victory, praising "a democratic Armenia that is increasingly getting closer to Europe."
French President Emmanuel Macron said the result would change "the momentum of Armenia toward closer relations with Europe."
