Armenia's Pashinyan wins election

Armenia's governing Civil Contract party won an election seen as a test of its handling of a ‌peace deal with Azerbaijan and its growing turn to the West, despite what international election observers called blatant interference and pressure by Russia.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's party won 49.8% of votes with all polling stations counted from Sunday's vote, enough to secure a parliamentary majority under Armenia's electoral system, the Central Election Commission (CEC) said on Monday.

The results, based on a strong turnout of nearly ​59%, also showed a better-than-expected tally for the two main pro-Russian opposition groups, which won a combined 31% of votes and are set to enter ​parliament.

International election monitors said the run-up to voting was marked by efforts by traditional patron Russia to influence the outcome.

"Russia exercised ⁠unprecedented pressure, using public threats and trade measures, trying to substantially alter the results of the election," said Edita Estrella of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of ​Europe observer mission.

"As members of the European Parliament, we strongly condemn this blatant interference in the domestic affairs of a sovereign state."

Russia accused the West of interfering in ​the vote and joined Armenia's opposition in alleging election violations.

"There is clearly broad demand within Armenian society for the steady development of Russian-Armenian ties," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

Sunday's vote was Armenia's first parliamentary election since a 2023 war in which Azerbaijan retook Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway territory that had an ethnic Armenian population.

Pashinyan's victory will boost his efforts to diversify Armenia's ​allies and trading partners away from Russia and more towards Western countries. Key to that effort is securing a peace deal with Azerbaijan and normalising relations with ​Azerbaijan's ally Turkey.

Pashinyan hailed a "historic victory" and pledged to continue building ties with both the West and Russia, while some opposition groups cried foul.

"The Armenian people ‌voted for ⁠regional prosperity and cooperation and I hope this will draw a positive response from Turkey and Azerbaijan," he said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Pashinyan and said Armenia could count on European support, saying on X: "We deeply value our partnership with a democratic Armenia that is drawing ever closer to Europe."

But Pashinyan has not secured the two-thirds majority in parliament needed to call a constitutional referendum demanded as part of a peace deal by Azerbaijan and to re-open the border and restart trade ​with Turkey.

Azerbaijan wants Armenia to amend ​its constitution to remove what it ⁠says is an implicit claim on Nagorno-Karabakh.

Zaur Shiriyev, a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, said it was unclear whether Azerbaijan would want to move forward with the peace process if Armenia failed to call a referendum on amending its ​constitution.

"The (Armenian) government would then face a very difficult domestic situation," Shiriyev said. "Cooperation with the opposition on such a sensitive issue ​is almost impossible."

Opposition alliances ⁠Strong Armenia and Armenia Alliance won 23.2% and 9.9% of the vote respectively, the CEC said. A fourth party, Prosperous Armenia, failed to meet the 4% threshold to enter parliament.

Election observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said voting went smoothly in most areas, but that prosecutions of opposition figures before the vote contributed to perceptions ⁠of selective ​justice.

Arrests before the election targeted the opposition, including parliamentary candidates for Strong Armenia. Party founder Samvel ​Karapetyan, who is under house arrest and campaigned on close ties with Moscow, said over 700 people associated with the group had been detained.

The Armenia Alliance, led by former pro-Russian president Robert Kocharyan, said Pashinyan's ​early victory claim constituted "pressure on the CEC and usurpation of power," Russian news agency Interfax reported.

-Reuters