YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) 鈥� Armenia鈥檚 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鈥檚 influence in the South Caucasus country.
Pashinyan鈥檚 government is with the European Union and 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 鈥渨idespread violations鈥� 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.
Polling observers for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said Armenian voters had been offered a 鈥済enuine choice鈥� but that the election had been conducted against a background of 鈥渉ighly confrontational…divisive rhetoric鈥� and 鈥渦neven campaign opportunities.鈥� Armenian investigators had issued six arrest warrants for members of Strong Armenia on the eve of polling day, accusing them of buying votes.
Samvel Karapetyan, the billionaire leader of Strong Armenia 鈥� who made his fortune in Russia 鈥� is currently under house arrest after being
Karapetyan has denied the charge which he has described as politically motivated.
鈥楧emocratic reform implementation鈥�
Armenia鈥檚 National Assembly must consist of at least 101 members elected for five-year terms. The parties must win at least 4% of the vote to enter, while blocs made up of three or more parties must hit 8%.
Civil Contract’s share of the vote entitles it to 64 seats in the assembly, with Strong Armenia on 29 seats and the Armenia Alliance, led by former President Robert Kocharyan, with 12 seats.
Geopolitical issues took center stage during the election campaign.
鈥淭he European Union is our main partner in democratic reform implementation, and we will continue that path,鈥� Pashinyan said as he cast his vote on June 7. Armenia last year officially declared its aspirations to join the EU.
Most opposition parties, including Strong Armenia, campaigned on a pro-Russian platform.
Russia, which has a military base in Armenia, has warned that Yerevan鈥檚 Western turn could have dire political and economic consequences. President Vladimir Putin has compared Armenia鈥檚 course to that of Ukraine in thinly veiled threats and has suggested Russia鈥檚 conflict with Ukraine started with its .
Moscow introduced a raft of trade sanctions in the weeks running up to the vote 鈥� imposing import bans on Armenian flowers, certain types of cognac and wine, eggplant, potatoes, dried fruits, fish and more 鈥� in a move described by the OSCE election monitors as 鈥渄irect pressure鈥� on Armenia鈥檚 vote. Russia said the bans were related to violations of agricultural import rules.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has accused Russia of 鈥渨eaponizing鈥� economic relations and described the ban on Armenian imports as 鈥渘othing short of economic coercion.鈥� She said the EU would send 50 million euros ($58 million) to support Armenia.
Weakening ties with Moscow
Relations between Moscow and Armenia soured as Azerbaijan retook control of the . The mountainous area had been controlled for decades by ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia, part of a long conflict between the neighboring countries.
Armenia accused Russian peacekeepers deployed to the region of failing to stop Azerbaijan鈥檚 onslaught. Moscow, busy with the war in Ukraine, has rejected the accusations.
Pashinyan has begun cautiously weakening ties with Moscow, joining the International Criminal Court in 2023 and suspending Armenia’s participation in the Moscow-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization in 2024.
Armenia also hosted the and its first summit with the EU in Yerevan in early May.
In August 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Pashinyan and Azerbaijan鈥檚 President Ilham Aliyev to sign a deal aimed at ending their decades-long conflict and including provisions for the creation of a new transit corridor from Azerbaijan to its exclave of Nakhchivan.
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