YEREVAN: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s party led the opposition Monday in early results from parliamentary elections that could cement his Westward tilt, after threats from Moscow and claims of Russian interference.
Armenia and Russia are technically allies, but Moscow has compared the former Soviet republic’s ambitions to join the European Union to the path it claims triggered its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Early results showed the ruling Civil Contract party leading Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia alliance by 52.5 to 23.2 percent, with 23.5 percent of electoral precincts reporting, the Central Election Commission said.
Two other opposition forces — ex-president Robert Kocharyan’s “Armenia” alliance and the Prosperous Armenia party — also cleared the electoral threshold, winning 9.3 percent and 4.6 percent of the vote respectively.
Turnout was 59 percent, the commission said.
