Armenian Voters Deliver Rebuke to Pashinyan After Nagorno-Karabakh Loss; Jailed Opposition Alliance Wins 25 Percent

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party won the largest share of seats in Armenia’s parliamentary election but fell short of the supermajority needed to call a referendum on constitutional amendments. The Strong Armenia alliance, whose leader Samvel Karapetyan campaigned from house arrest, received 25 percent of the seats in parliament.

The election was the first national vote since Armenia lost control of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan in 2023. Karapetyan was detained in June and charged with calling for the seizure of power, according to court filings referenced in reporting on the vote. Authorities arrested other opposition figures in the period leading up to the election.

” He stated that Armenia would continue to deepen ties with the West while remaining in the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, adding that there is no question of choosing between Russia and the West. European Commission vice-president Kaja Kallas said Armenians appeared to have voted for a European future despite heavy Russian pressure.

Brussels announced an initial €50 million support package to help Armenia withstand Russian economic pressure. Pashinyan has suspended Armenia’s participation in the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization. Moscow imposed trade restrictions on Armenian goods in the weeks before the election.

Pashinyan said his party’s priority for the next term is the complete dismantling of what he described as a criminal-oligarchic system. He also said leading opposition figures should face criminal prosecution.