Pashinyan’s party wins nearly 50% of the vote in Armenia’s parliamentary elections and will hold a majority in parliament

Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party, led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, took 49.81% of the vote in parliamentary elections, the Central Election Commission reported after tallying results from all 2,005 precincts, according to News.am.

The Strong Armenia alliance of Russian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan finished second with 23.29%. The Armenia bloc, led by former President Robert Kocharyan, came in third with 9.94%. The Prosperous Armenia party received 4%.

Update: According to revised data from the Central Election Commission, the Prosperous Armenia party received 3.9% of the vote and did not enter parliament. It was initially reported to have won 4%. As a result, three political forces will be represented in the new parliament: Civil Contract, Strong Armenia, and Armenia.

Parliamentary elections were held in Armenia on June 7, with 18 political forces taking part: 16 parties and two alliances. The electoral threshold is set at 4% for parties. For blocs of up to three parties, it is 8%, and for alliances of four or more parties, 10%.

The vote took place against the backdrop of worsening relations between Moscow and Yerevan. Russia has accused Pashinyan of pursuing a pro-Western course. On the night after the election, Pashinyan said Armenia would continue moving closer to the European Union while remaining a member of the Eurasian Economic Union. “We will also continue to develop our relations with the Russian Federation and other countries of the Eurasian Economic Union,” he added.