Armenian head of government Nikol Pashinyan announced a victory in the parliamentary elections on Monday after results from just over one-fifth of polling stations showed his party had won about 54% of the vote, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
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At a press conference early Monday morning, Pashinyan stated that his "Civil Contract" party had won, calling it a "historic victory."
Pashinyan, as reported by Radio Azatutyun, indicated that following the victory, his party would form the government single-handedly. "I want to emphasize that the 'Civil Contract' party received the votes of more citizens of the Republic of Armenia, a vote of confidence from more citizens compared to 2021," Pashinyan said.
"This is a historic victory that will unequivocally ensure the survival and development of the Republic of Armenia, and, of course, we will have lasting and institutional peace," the acting prime minister assured.
When asked by a journalist whether his statement was problematic before the results of all polling stations were summarized, Pashinyan replied: "You know, we have proxies at all polling stations, and we have the protocols, and we are making our own calculations."
Armenia's election commission had published preliminary results from approximately 21% of polling stations at the time Pashinyan held his press conference.
Sunday's vote, the first nationwide election in Armenia since the military defeat by Azerbaijan in 2023, was seen as a test of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's drive to deepen ties with the West and secure a peace deal with Azerbaijan after years of conflict and political turbulence, the publication notes.
Preliminary results showed that "Civil Contract" received 54.5% of the vote, while the pro-Russian "Strong Armenia" alliance took second place with 21.9% of the vote. The "Armenia" alliance came in third with 8.7%, and the "Prosperous Armenia" party trailed in fourth place with about 5%.
Turnout in the landlocked country of 3 million people was high, with nearly 59% of voters participating. The Central Election Commission is expected to announce official preliminary voting results on Monday.
Pashinyan's "Civil Contract," which has brought Armenia closer to the West since coming to power in 2018, faced three main pro-Russian opposition parties.
His main rival is Samvel Karapetyan, who founded "Strong Armenia" last year and campaigned on a pro-business platform, promising to maintain Armenia's close ties with Russia.
Pashinyan's strong results would give him a mandate to finalize peace negotiations with Azerbaijan, which has been intermittently at war with Armenia since the late 1980s, and to normalize relations with Turkey, a key ally of Azerbaijan, the publication notes.
Pashinyan's party receives over 54 percent in Armenian elections - first CEC data08.06.26, 03:52