Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declared a decisive victory for his ruling Civil Contract party after parliamentary elections that were widely viewed as a crucial test of the country's geopolitical direction and its future relationship with both Europe and Russia.
Speaking at a press conference early Monday, Pashinyan described the outcome as a “historic victory” after preliminary results showed his party comfortably ahead of its competitors.
With just over one-fifth of polling stations counted, Civil Contract was receiving more than half of the vote, securing roughly 52-54 percent support according to early figures released by Armenia's Central Election Commission. The pro-Russian opposition bloc Strong Armenia, led by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, was a distant second with approximately 23 percent. Former President Robert Kocharyan's Armenia Alliance followed with around 9 percent, while the Prosperous Armenia Party narrowly passed the electoral threshold with roughly 4.6 percent.
Voter turnout reached 59 percent, according to election authorities. Final official results are expected later Monday.
The election was the first parliamentary vote since Armenia lost control of Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan in 2023 and was widely seen as a referendum on both Pashinyan's leadership and his efforts to reposition Armenia closer to Western institutions.
