Armenia's ruling Civil Contract party won nearly half the votes to win a parliamentary election viewed as a test of its approach to a peace deal with Azerbaijan and an increasing shift toward the West from its traditional ties with Russia.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's party won 49.8% of votes with all polling stations counted, results from the Central Election Commission (CEC) showed Monday, down from 54% in the 2021 election.
The results, however, also showed a better-than-expected tally for three main pro-Russian opposition groups, which won a combined 37% of votes and are, preliminarily, on track to enter parliament alongside Civil Contract.
Sunday's vote was Armenia's first general election since a crushing military defeat by Azerbaijan in 2023, after years of conflict and political turbulence.
In a press conference in the early hours of Monday morning, Pashinyan said his party had prevailed, calling it a "historic victory."
