Armenia’s pro-West government has secured a victory in the general election, according to BBC reports, as Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s party won 49.8% of the vote. The election was viewed as a test of the prime minister’s push to deepen ties with the West while facing mounting economic pressure from Russia, its largest trading partner and traditional ally. Pashinyan’s centrist Civil Contract Party secured 49.8% of the vote, with the Strong Armenia Alliance coming in second with 23.2%. The Armenia Alliance was third with 9.9%.

Election as a Central Test

Sunday’s vote was the first general election since Armenia, a small South Caucasus country of three million people, suffered a crushing military defeat by Azerbaijan in 2023. Pashinyan, who has been in power since 2018, declared victory on Monday after early results showed his party had secured more than 50% of the vote. “Armenian people voted for peace, regional prosperity and cooperation,” he said. The election drew significant international attention to the country. On Monday, France and the EU were among European powers that congratulated Pashinyan, praising Armenia’s closer ties with the West.

Domestic and International Responses

Russia’s foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova was quoted by the Tass news agency as saying “historic pressure” had been put on opposition parties and alleged there had been “interference” from the West. Zakharova also said the election had demonstrated that Armenian society was “extremely polarised.” Civil Contract’s success came despite Pashinyan’s domestic support falling from 54% in 2021 to around 30% today, according to polls. A total of 19 parties and alliances took part in the election but few of these earned enough votes to gain a seat in the national assembly. Turnout was 59%, the electoral commission said.

Domestic Challenges and International Tensions

The conservative Prosperous Armenia party, led by businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, came fourth with 4% of the vote. It, like the Strong Armenia Alliance – led by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, and the Armenia Alliance – led by former President Robert Kocharyan, are pro-Russian. “We will continue the course of rapprochement with the West, but we will also continue our participation and membership in the Eurasian Economic Union,” Pashinyan also said on Monday. In late May, the Russian president called on Armenia to hold a referendum “as soon as possible” on whether to join the EU or remain in the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), a customs bloc from which Armenia benefits. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin listed the economic benefits Armenia stood to lose if it pursued closer ties with the West – pointedly noting that “the crisis in Ukraine began with efforts to move toward EU accession”. Russia supplies Armenia with gas at $177.50 (£132.90) per 1,000 cubic metres, while European market prices, as Putin pointed out to Pashinyan in April, exceed $600. In the two weeks preceding the election, Moscow banned the export of Armenian flowers, mineral water, cognac, fresh vegetables and fruit.

Pashinyan efforts to try and steer his country away from Moscow include passing a law to launch the process of joining the EU, and accelerating the peace process with neighbouring Azerbaijan via a US-brokered agreement. The latter has won him US President Donald Trump’s endorsement. He also hosted a large summit of EU leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the capital, Yerevan, earlier this year. Despite Pashinyan developing, good-natured relationship with European leaders, Armenia doesn’t even have EU candidate status yet, and membership of the bloc is still a long way off. His loss of popularity is mainly due to the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous enclave inside Azerbaijan that was home to 100,000 ethnic Armenians until Azerbaijan took it by force in 2023. Pashinyan’s critics have never forgiven him for making concessions in favour of peace with Azerbaijan, like refusing to campaign for the release of former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh who are in jail in the neighbouring country. The peace deal with Azerbaijan, too, remains deeply divisive, with one recent poll showing 44% of public opinion in support and 41% opposed. In the Armenian capital, Yerevan, the election results were not met with much excitement and people were going about their days as usual.

Lala, 70, is a gardener who looks after the roses in the city’s central Republic Square. She told the BBC that she voted for Pashinyan. “I am excited. He is the one who is taking us to peace, he raised pensions and we have free healthcare, we can see what he is doing, we are not voting for him blindly.” Gohar, 40, said she was sceptical about a possible future for Armenia in the EU. “I don’t have any evidence that the European Union is waiting for Armenia. We know that Georgia is waiting for a long time, Turkey is waiting for a long time.” When asked about Pashinyan’s peace agenda, she said: “Yes, of course, in Nagorno-Karabakh there is also peace now, but there are no Armenians left, I don’t want the same thing to happen here.” For Arshak, 25, the number one issue in the election is the displaced people from Nagorno-Karabakh. “It is their right to live in peace like we are living,” he said, adding: “Before we talk about our external relations with the EU or Russia, we should first focus on the topic of displaced Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh.” Anahit and Kimma, both 16, are still too young to vote but said their thoughts have been formed by what their family members have been saying. Anahit is a student at a medical college and said she hopes the government will reduce the cost of education. Kimma, meanwhile, said: “I did not think any of the candidates was good, but now that Pashinyan is elected, I hope he will be better than he was before.”