The victory of Nicole Pasinian’s party was confirmed by the Central Election Commission, during the announcement of the final results of the parliamentary elections held in Armenia.
Pasinyan’s Social Contract garnered 53.9% of the vote, well ahead of 21% in the party of former Armenian President Robert Kocharian, after counting 100% of the ballots.
However, many observers fear that protests and even riots will erupt after a fierce election campaign that polarized Armenian society, just months after the country’s heavy military defeat against Azerbaijan.
“We already know that we have won a convincing victory in the elections and we have a large majority in parliament,” Pasinian said hours before the official announcement of the results, calling on his supporters to gather tonight in the center of Yerevan.
Allegations of fraud
For his part, Kotsarian denounced her “Premeditated fraud” and demanded “that the alleged and reported irregularities be carefully examined.”
“Until full answers are given, the party will not recognize the result of the elections”, his party pointed out in a statement.
The 46-year-old former journalist Pasinyan became the Prime Minister of Armenia in 2018 after a peaceful revolution against the old, corrupt political elite of the country. He now faces 66-year-old former president Robert Kotsarian, who accuses him of incompetence and emerges as an experienced leader.
Pasinian’s record popularity sank after Armenia’s defeat in the war with Azerbaijan in the autumn of 2020.
After six weeks of fighting and more than 6,500 dead, Yerevan was forced to cede significant territory it controlled after a previous conflict in the 1990s to Nagorno-Karabakh, an area seceded from Azerbaijan, where Armenians live mainly.
The defeat, considered a national humiliation, sparked a political crisis in Armenia and forced Pasinyan to call early elections, hoping to ease tensions and strengthen his legitimacy.
Despite the reforms he had embarked on, many former Pasinian supporters abandoned him after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and turned to his opponents, although they are linked to the old elites accused of plundering the country.
After collecting 70% of the votes in the 2018 parliamentary elections, Pasinian this time aimed for 60%.
“We have achieved a second revolution in three years,” Pasinian said after the results were announced.
“Pasinian won more seats” thanks to the support of the provincial districts and the undecided who voted for him “not to support him, but because of their fear and hatred of Kotsarian,” said Armenian-American analyst Richard Giragosian.
Despite the opposition’s allegations, the Central Election Commission assured that “generally the elections were conducted in accordance with the law.”
Observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), responsible for monitoring the conduct of the elections, will announce their conclusions today at 14:00 Greek time.
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