Parliamentary Elections Are Over In Armenia

The vote counting has begun.

Armenia has completed voting in parliamentary elections, considered one of the most important for the country in recent years, as Yerevan is now trying to gradually withdraw from Russia's orbit of influence. Citizens chose the new composition of the National Assembly against the backdrop of large-scale discussions on the future foreign policy course. The main topics of the campaign were the country's future relations with Russia, the development of the peace process with Azerbaijan and prospects for rapprochement with the European Union and the United States, JAMnews reported.

Previous opinion polls favored Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's ruling Civil Pact party. According to various estimates, it could count on the support of about 24-32% of voters. The incumbent head of government and his supporters have consistently advocated a gradual distancing from Moscow, deepening cooperation with the West and the need for a peace agreement with Baku. According to Gallup International Association polls conducted in May, the ruling party had 28.8% support, while the opposition bloc "Strong Armenia" had 14.9%.

The main rival of the incumbent government is the opposition bloc "Strong Armenia". This political force was created by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, whose fortune Forbes estimates at $4.1 billion. According to analysts, it is this bloc that the Kremlin is betting on in its attempts to change the government in Yerevan, although other opposition forces in Armenia are predominantly pro-Russian.

During the day, the Central Election Commission reported a gradual increase in voter activity. By the afternoon, the turnout at polling stations exceeded 30%, but final data on the number of voters is yet to be released. Occasional irregularities were reported during voting and on the eve of the election. Opposition forces claimed pressure on their representatives and candidates, while international observers recorded isolated procedural incidents. Now there is no information about large-scale falsifications that could critically affect the voting results. The first preliminary results of vote counting and exit poll data are expected in the coming hours.

Moscow's political pressure on the Armenian leadership sometimes reached absurdity. In particular, at 9:00 a.m. on June 1, Putin officially congratulated Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday and declared supposedly "friendly relations" between the states. However, just an hour later, Russian controlling authorities introduced another prohibitive fish ban against Armenian producers. The main purpose of such actions of the Kremlin is to artificially provoke internal discontent in Armenia and attempts to shift the financial losses of local business personally to the Prime Minister. However, instead of internal revolts, Armenian businessmen and the government are choosing the path of adaptation and are now actively reorienting their companies to alternative trade routes and new international partners.

Parliamentary elections are taking place after several years of dramatic political and geopolitical changes in Armenia. After losing control over Nagorno-Karabakh, Nikol Pashinyan's government officially accused the Russian Federation and CSTO structures of failing to fulfill security commitments. In addition, Pashinyan officially declared that Armenia is not Russia's ally in the war against Ukraine and confirmed the provision of humanitarian aid to Kiev.

Kremlin has significantly increased economic pressure on Yerevan because of its course of European integration. Under the pretext of quarantine restrictions, supplies of Armenian vegetables, strawberries, flowers, wine, brandy and mineral water to Russia were completely blocked.

In response to Russian economic coercion and trade restrictions, which Brussels called the use of economics as a weapon, the European Union began preparing a support package for Armenia. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced at least 50 million euros in economic aid for the country.

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