Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is poised to stay in office, potentially causing a breakup with key partner Russia

The Civil Contract party of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan won 49.81% of the vote in Sunday's parliamentaryelection, according to the Central Election Commission's (CEC) complete count.

Pashinyanclaimedvictory while the counting was still underway, when his party's advantage was even wider, saying his party would be able to form a new government without having to form a coalition.

The prime minister posted a video of himself making his trademark heart-shaped gesture to the camera as Queen's 'We Are the Champions' played in the background.

Four parties and blocs cleared the threshold for seats in the new parliament. Strong Armenia, founded by Samvel Karapetyan, came in second with 23.29%. Karapetyan is being prosecuted over allegations that he plotted a coup during the 2024-2025 anti-government protests, while six candidates from his movement werearrestedover the weekend. He said his party is facing political persecution.

The Armenia Alliance of former President Robert Kocharyan won 9.94%, while Prosperous Armenia, led by businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, narrowly crossed the 4% threshold. The CEC is expected to issue its final report on the vote within the week, after reviewing possible irregularities, which opposition parties say they plan to challenge.

Opposition groups have accused Pashinyan's government of using underhanded tactics to weaken its rivals. Alongside the unexpected arrests of Strong Armenia candidates, a smaller party sought to have Karapetyan's movement disqualified outright. The CEC rejected the request, saying it lacked evidence of wrongdoing. Critics alleged that the effort was orchestrated by the prime minister.

There were also reports that younger Armenian citizens returning from Russia were required to check their eligibility for military service before being allowed to vote. Armenia does not permit voting from abroad and applies residency requirements to voters. Russia is the most important trading partner for the landlocked post-Soviet country and is home to around 2 million Armenians, compared to 3 million living in Armenia.

Pashinyan, who came to power following protests in 2018, campaigned on a pledge to move Armenia closer to the EU. Moscow haswarnedthat this would harm bilateral ties and result in serious economic damage.

Pashinyan has argued that Armenia can continue benefiting from trade with Russia while pursuing closer alignment with the EU, even though the bloc has described confrontation with Russia as one of its strategic priorities.

(RT.com)