Yerevan, Armenia. Armenians head to the polls on Sunday in a parliamentary election widely seen as a test of the government’s efforts to secure a peace deal after a military defeat by Azerbaijan three years ago. Polls show Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s ruling Civil Contract party in the lead ahead of the vote.
Campaign standings
Surveys indicate Civil Contract is backed by up to 32 per cent of voters, while the pro-Russian Strong Armenia party is in second place with up to 11 per cent.
Pashinyan’s platform
Since coming to power in 2018, Pashinyan has moved Armenia closer to the West and away from its traditional patron Russia, drawing criticism from Moscow ahead of the election.
Gross domestic product per capita has also doubled during Pashinyan’s time in office. The prime minister, a former journalist and opposition activist, has made his peace initiative a central part of his campaign.
He has highlighted the agreement he signed at the White House last August with Azerbaijan after intermittent conflict that has continued since the late 1980s.
Public reaction
Pashinyan has faced criticism from opposition groups and some sections of the public, who accuse him of capitulating to Azerbaijan, particularly since the 2023 war.
At a rally for Pashinyan in Yerevan’s central square on Friday, 39-year-old voter Karine Darbinyan said: “I really like how Armenia has been growing right before my eyes.”
Opposition message
Armenia’s opposition is dominated by pro-Russian groups, including Strong Armenia, which was formed last year by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan.
Karapetyan supports maintaining close ties with Russia, which remains a major supplier of energy to Armenia and a key market for its exports.
At a Strong Armenia rally in Yerevan last week, a woman who gave her name only as Gayane said she supported Karapetyan because he would ensure “that our Armenia remains Armenian”.
Nagorno-Karabakh legacy
Gayane said her roots were in Nagorno-Karabakh, the breakaway territory inhabited by ethnic Armenians that was retaken by Azerbaijan in the 2023 war.
The region’s entire Armenian population fled after the one-day offensive.