Armenia’s Pashinyan claims victory in parliamentary elections

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declared victory in parliamentary elections early Monday as vote counting continued across the country.

Speaking to reporters, Pashinyan said his Civil Contract party had won the elections.

“I extend my gratitude to all my colleagues in the party. We worked day and night, and this is a victory of history. This victory belongs to the Armenian people,” he said.

With ballots counted from 110 of the country’s 2,005 polling stations, Civil Contract had secured 57.14% of the vote, according to the state news agency Armenpress, citing the Central Election Commission (CEC).

Strong Armenia, led by billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, was in second place with 21.4%, followed by former President Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance with 8.2%.

Pashinyan said his government would continue its policy of rapprochement with Europe while maintaining ties with Russia.

“We will also continue our membership in the Eurasian Economic Union. We will continue to develop our relations with Russia,” he added.

According to the Central Election Commission, the country has 2,485,232 registered voters.

A total of 18 candidate lists competed for seats in the at-least-101-seat parliament, with 2,005 polling stations set up across the country. Voting has concluded, and ballot counting is underway.

Pre-election polls had projected Civil Contract to finish ahead of its rivals, though questions remain over whether Pashinyan will secure a parliamentary majority large enough to govern alone and push through possible constitutional amendments needed to finalize a peace agreement with Azerbaijan.