The ruling Civic Contract (KP) party, associated with pro-Western Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, has emerged as the winner of Armenia’s parliamentary elections. After the counting of nearly all votes, the party achieved a result of just under 50 percent. Its closest rival, the pro-Russian union Strong Armenia, secured second place with approximately 23 percent of the vote. The central electoral commission in Armenia has stated that the definitive results will be announced later on Monday.
These parliamentary elections marked the first since the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh was ceded to Azerbaijan in 2023. The vote was widely seen as a high-stakes referendum between Pashinyan and his main opponent, the Russian-Armenian oligarch Samvel Karapetjan.
Prior to the election, Pashinyan emphasized that the future of Armenia depends on strengthening its independence, statehood, democracy, and rule of law. He further announced that Armenia intends to continue its path of democratic reforms, supported by its European partners, given that the European Union is the primary contributor to implementing these changes.
The election was heavily overshadowed by concerns regarding Russian interference. Armenian authorities had announced on Saturday that more than 40 individuals had been detained in a major investigation on suspicion of vote-buying.
