Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had appeared poised to win a clear victory in a closely watched parliamentary election Sunday, but the ballot result now defies easy geopolitical takeways.
In results announced Monday, Armenia’s Central Election Commission said Pashinyan’s ruling Civil Contract party had secured 49.81% of the vote, Reuters reported. That puts Pashinyan well ahead of the opposition Strong Armenia party, but it means he may lack the overwhelming mandate he needs to solidify a pivot away from Russia – the country’s longstanding security guarantor and trading partner – and to negotiate a lasting peace with Armenia’s neighbor and longtime adversary, Azerbaijan.
Pashinyan declared victory after early results came in, though the final allocation of seats in parliament is unclear. Smaller parties need to cross a 4% threshold to win seats, and it does not appear at this stage that Pashinyan will have the two-thirds constitutional majority to push through the most ambitious parts of his agenda.
The elections in Armenia were widely viewed as a referendum on the direction of the country’s foreign policy. Pashinyan ran on a pledge to secure peace with Azerbaijan, normalize ties with Turkey and strengthen ties with the European Union, a platform that won an endorsement from US President Donald Trump.
