Pashinyan Claims Victory in Armenian Election

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has declared victory in the parliamentary election after preliminary results from more than a fifth of polling stations showed his Civil Contract party winning about 54.5% of the vote.

Pashinyan described the result as a “historic victory” and said voters had backed his political course towards closer cooperation with the West and a peace deal with Azerbaijan.

The election was the first nationwide vote since Armenia’s military defeat by Azerbaijan in 2023. The pro-Russian Strong Armenia alliance came second with 21.9% of the vote, followed by the Armenia Alliance on 8.7% and the Prosperous Armenia Party on about 5%.

Turnout reached almost 59%, pointing to high voter interest in a country of about three million people. Official preliminary results are due to be published by the Central Electoral Commission on Monday.

Pashinyan’s party has pushed for closer ties with Europe and the United States since coming to power in 2018. A strong result could give him a mandate to complete peace talks with Azerbaijan while continuing efforts to normalize relations with Turkey, Baku’s main ally.

(reuters, max)