Polling stations in Armenia closed at 8:00 p.m. local time, and the Central Election Commission (CEC) will begin announcing first results by precinct around midnight.
All pre-vote polls predicted a victory for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's ruling "Civil Contract" party, although it remains unclear whether it will garner enough votes for an outright majority.
The vote was held amid heightened interest and serious geopolitical tension, marking the country's first regular parliamentary elections since 2017. As of 5:00 p.m. local time, turnout reached 48.92% (over 1.22 million voters). This is a significantly higher result compared to the same time in the 2021 elections (38.18%) and 2018 (39.53%).
On the eve of the vote, Armenian authorities detained six candidates for deputies from the pro-Russian opposition party “Strong Armenia“ on charges of vote buying. The party's leader, billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who is under house arrest, was escorted to vote and called the actions "politically motivated".
The Interior Ministry and independent observers reported hundreds of reports of violations. These include investigations into double voting, organized free transportation of voters from Russia, and problems with the secrecy of the vote (too transparent ballot envelopes in some sections).
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said after the vote that “the tension with Russia is of an artificial nature“. At the same time, his main opponents - former President Robert Kocharyan (“Armenia“ bloc) and Samvel Karapetyan, called for change and restoration of balance in foreign policy, criticizing the current government's turn towards the West.
The official summary preliminary results are expected to be finalized and presented by the CEC within the framework of tomorrow.