YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia’s polling authority on Sunday confirmed that the party led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan won a general election seen as a vote on its geopolitical future and a test of Russia’s influence in the South Caucasus country.Pashinyan’s government is seeking closer relations with the European Union and the United States despite longstanding ties with Russia that have been championed by his critics.Final results issued by the Central Electoral Commission for the ballot held on June 7 showed the ruling Civil Contract party won 49.7% of the vote, and it will be able to form a government.The pro-Russian opposition Strong Armenia party had appealed to the commission to annul the results, citing alleged “widespread violations” during the vote. Strong Armenia and other opposition parties held a rally in front of the Central Electoral Commission while it was meeting to finalize the election results.
The gap between the announcement on June 8 of the preliminary results and the final results gave parties the opportunity to log complaints on any perceived irregularities.
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Polling observers for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said Armenian voters had been offered a “genuine choice” but that the election had been conducted against a background of “highly confrontational...divisive rhetoric” and “uneven campaign opportunities.” Armenian investigators had issued six arrest warrants for members of Strong Armenia on the eve of polling day, accusing them of buying votes.
