Pashinyan party wins Armenia vote with 49.8% despite Russia pressure
What's next: The result strengthens Yerevan's push toward the West after Russia curbed imports and warned of costs tied to an EU turn.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Contract Party won 49.8% of the vote in a parliamentary election seen as a test of whether the country will keep moving closer to the West. The Strong Armenia Alliance placed second with 23.2%, while the Armenia Alliance took 9.9%. Turnout was 59%, the electoral commission said. The vote was Armenia's first general election since its 2023 military defeat by Azerbaijan. Pashinyan cast the result as a mandate for peace and regional cooperation. The campaign unfolded under pressure from Russia, Armenia's biggest trading partner, after Moscow warned Yerevan about the economic costs of deeper Western ties and blocked exports including flowers, mineral water, cognac, fruit and vegetables.