Armenia Holds Parliamentary Elections

Armenia holds parliamentary elections on Sunday that will decide whether Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan continues shifting the country toward the European Union and the United States. Nineteen political forces, including two blocs and 17 parties, are contesting the vote. Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party is the leading contender, according to analysts.

Pashinyan has moved to reduce dependence on Russia since 2023. Armenia joined the International Criminal Court that year and suspended participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization in 2024. It also declared its intention to join the EU and hosted the European Political Community summit in Yerevan in early May.

Relations with Moscow deteriorated after Azerbaijan took full control of the Karabakh region in 2023. Armenian authorities accused Russian peacekeepers of failing to intervene. S. President Donald Trump hosted Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev to sign an agreement ending decades of hostilities.

The deal includes plans for a transit corridor linking Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan. S. company will build a new nuclear reactor in Armenia. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe is prepared to invest in Armenia’s energy sector and its digital economy.

She announced Thursday that the EU will provide 50 million euros ($58 million) in support. Pashinyan’s main opponent is the Strong Armenia Party, led by Armenian-Russian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan. Karapetyan is on trial for calling for the overthrow of the government.

Former President Robert Kocharyan heads the Hayastan bloc and has accused Pashinyan of undermining ties with Russia. Russia maintains a military base in Armenia. In recent weeks it imposed new restrictions on Armenian produce, citing sanitation issues, and banned flowers, certain cognacs and wines, eggplants, potatoes, dried fruits, and fish.

Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union was placed under formal review at a May meeting in Kazakhstan. Armenian government statistics show 38 percent of the country’s exports went to Eurasian Economic Union members in 2025, mostly to Russia, while 8 percent went to the EU.

Daniel Ionnisyan, head of the Union of Informed Citizens, said his group documented Russian-linked social media campaigns, cyberattacks, and attempts to bribe journalists ahead of the vote.

A Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe delegation that visited Yerevan in May reported similar findings of foreign interference.