Armenia election results showed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party winning 49.8 percent of the vote, strengthening his push for closer Western ties.
The Central Election Commission said the ruling party finished well ahead of Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia alliance, which won 23.3 percent.
The vote followed years of political strain in the South Caucasus country after Azerbaijan’s 2023 takeover of Karabakh and the exodus of its ethnic Armenian population.
Pashinyan framed the election as a choice between peace with Azerbaijan and a return to war. He said Armenians had voted for regional prosperity and cooperation.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Pashinyan and said Armenia could count on the European Union. French President Emmanuel Macron said the result would support closer ties with Europe.
The Central Election Commission said turnout stood at 59 percent. Former president Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia alliance also entered parliament with 9.9 percent of the vote.
Read: Armenia Election Tests Pashinyan’s Azerbaijan Peace Push
Analyst Armen Badalyan said Pashinyan’s party won enough seats to form the next cabinet. He said it lacked the supermajority needed for constitutional amendments sought by Azerbaijan in peace talks.
Karapetyan, who remains under house arrest, called the election “shameful” and alleged violations. Armenia’s Investigative Committee said it opened 59 criminal cases over alleged electoral offences and detained nine people.
Pashinyan has frozen Armenia’s participation in a Russia-led security bloc, signed a strategic partnership with Washington and backed a path toward possible European Union membership.
