Armenia votes in election with Russia and EU looking on

Armenians voted on Sunday in a parliamentary election that seems likely to bolster the country's pro-EU trajectory, despite Russia's anger at the course the government has taken.

Turnout was nearly 59% when polls closed at 8 p.m. local time (1600 GMT/UTC), according to the Central Election Commission, with partial results expected early Monday.

The ruling Civil Contract party of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has the pro-Russia Strong Armenia party as its closest rival in the election, which is also seen as a referendum on Pashinyan's peace efforts with Azerbaijan.

Polls have shown Pashinyan and his party well in the lead with up to 32% support, compared with just 11% for Strong Armenia.

This seems to indicate some endorsement of Pashinyan's efforts to move Armenia closer to the West since he came to power in 2018, although he will not be able to govern alone if the poll results are confirmed.