Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has declared victory for his Civil Contract party in the country’s parliamentary elections. According to the Central Election Commission, less than 20 percent of ballots have been counted so far.
A total of 18 political forces — 16 parties and two alliances, including Civil Contract — took part in the parliamentary elections in Armenia. Nikol Pashinyan has served as Prime Minister since 2018.
According to the Central Election Commission, after votes from 506 polling stations were processed, Civil Contract received 51.8 percent of the vote. The Strong Armenia alliance of businessman Samvel Karapetyan came second with 21.43 percent. Third place went to the Armenia alliance led by former president Robert Kocharyan.
Representatives of Robert Kocharyan’s electoral bloc described Nikol Pashinyan’s early claims of victory as an attempt to usurp power.
The elections took place amid cooling relations between Armenia and Russia, linked to Yerevan’s plans to strengthen ties with the European Union.
