Armenian Parliamentary Election Gives Pashinyan’s Party 54 Percent of Vote

Preliminary results from Armenia’s Central Election Commission showed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party receiving roughly 54 percent of the vote in Sunday’s parliamentary election, securing a slim majority in the 101-seat parliament.

Final results confirmed the same figures. Voter turnout stood at 59 percent. The Strong Armenia alliance led by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan received about 25 percent.

Pashinyan addressed supporters at campaign headquarters as tallies came in. “The people of Armenia voted for peace, regional prosperity and regional cooperation, and I hope this will be met with a positive response from Turkey and Azerbaijan,” he said. He added that Armenia would continue to deepen ties with the west while maintaining its membership of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union.

The election was the first national vote since Armenia lost control of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan in 2023. Pashinyan came to power in the 2018 Velvet Revolution. His party fell short of the supermajority required to call a referendum on amending the constitution.

Karapetyan was detained in June and charged with calling for the seizure of power. He campaigned from house arrest. Armenian authorities arrested several opposition figures, including members of Karapetyan’s alliance, in the weeks before the election. Pashinyan stated in the campaign period that leading opposition figures should face criminal prosecution.

This week the European Union announced an initial €50m support package to help Armenia withstand Russian economic pressure. Pashinyan had earlier suspended Armenia’s participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organization. In the run-up to the vote, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Armenia was heading down the same path as Ukraine.