Voters in Armenia are voting in parliamentary elections on Sunday, in which current Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his ruling Civil Contract party are the favourites. At the same time, AP reported in its report that Armenian investigators announced that the day before the elections – on Saturday – issued six arrest warrants for members of the opposition party Strong Armenia, whom they accused of buying votes.
The Central Election Commission confirmed on Saturday that despite this incident, this party can participate in the elections, even though a member of the opposition party Republika demanded the exclusion of Strong Armenia from the elections due to electoral corruption, writes TASR.
In Sunday’s elections in Armenia, two political blocs and 17 parties are vying for the favor of voters. To enter the National Assembly, which has at least 101 deputies according to the Armenian constitution, a party must pass the four percent threshold, while electoral blocs must win eight to 10 percent of the vote – depending on the number of parties that make them up.
The Central Electoral Commission will start publishing the first results late Sunday evening. According to Armenian media, the preliminary distribution of forces will become clearer during the night after the results are delivered from the country’s largest cities. 13 domestic and eight international observation missions were accredited in Armenia to monitor the elections to the National Assembly. AP added.
After casting his vote on Sunday, Pashinyan declared that Armenia will continue to strengthen its independence, statehood, democracy and the rule of law. “The European Union is our main partner in carrying out democratic reforms and we will continue on this path,” he said. However, he also emphasized that there is no tension between Armenia and Moscow. “Our relations with Russia are institutional and based on mutual respect,” Pashinyan was quoted by the Armenpress agency.
However, in recent weeks, Russian authorities have introduced a series of restrictions on the export of selected commodities from Armenia and high-ranking political figures, including President Vladimir Putin, sent implicit warnings to Yerevan, comparing Armenia’s pro-European efforts to the path taken by Ukraine.
Pashinyan repeatedly and not only during the election campaign spoke about the need for a balanced foreign policy, which would allow Armenia to maintain good relations with the United States, Europe and Russia, as well as with regional powers such as Turkey and Iran. Despite this, he gained significantly more sympathy in the West than in Moscow. He was supported by several European leaders, as well as US President Donald Trump.
Unlike the Civil Contract party, the majority of the Armenian opposition supports building stronger relations with Moscow. The Strong Armenia party wants to develop business ties with Russia and accuses Pashinyan of trying to provoke a conflict with Moscow. Its leader Samvel Karapetyan is facing trial for alleged calls to overthrow the government, which he himself denies and calls the entire investigation a politically motivated process.
He coordinated the election campaign from house arrest with the help of his nephew Narek Karapetyan. Security forces brought Samvel Karapetyan to the polling station on Sunday. Other prominent candidates include former president Robert Kocharyan, who heads the Armenian Alliance bloc and accuses Pashinyan of “seriously damaging” relations with Russia.
The opposition is also represented by the Prosperous Armenia party led by pro-Russian businessman Gagik Carukyan. These parties also sharply criticize Pashinyan for his efforts to normalize relations with neighboring Azerbaijan. In August 2025, the Prime Minister of Armenia and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev initialed a document leading to a peace agreement in the White House in the presence of Trump.
Shortly before the elections in Armenia, major Western media reported that Russia, which is focused on the war against Ukraine, does not currently have the resources to quickly strengthen its influence in the South Caucasus. That is why, according to an article in Forbes magazine, parliamentary elections in Armenia have become the subject of intense attempts at political influence.
The international investigative organization the Organized Crime and Corruption Watch Project (OCCRP) and the news website The Insider have reported on campaigns aimed at shaping public opinion in Armenia, discrediting the government of Nikol Pashinyan and supporting forces pushing for closer ties with Russia.
Attempts to mobilize the Armenian diaspora living in Russia and work with voters were also mentioned in the leaked documents. who, in addition to Armenian, also have Russian citizenship.
In the published articles, there were also references to video recordings with the participation of the former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno Ocampo and his son Tomás. The authors of the articles claim that The Ocampos used their contacts and authority to gain support against initiatives aimed at bringing Armenia closer to the EU – they also cooperated with the Armenian lobby network in the USA and used the financial support of Russian-Armenian businessmen to undermine confidence in Pashinyan. In one of the recordings, according to the Eurasianet portal, Tomás Ocampo allegedly says that the purpose of his work with his father is to “overthrow Pašinjan”.
According to an article in Forbes magazine, it is the aim of such activities is to slow down the rapprochement of Armenia with the West, prevent the normalization of relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey and maintain Moscow’s influence on the key transport and energy routes of the South Caucasus.
