LIVE: Armenia heads to polls in high-stakes 2026 parliamentary election. Photo

Georgia’s fifth president, Salome Zurabishvili, wrote on X:

“Armenia, your struggle is our struggle too. These elections will determine your democratic and European future. We stand with you.”

According to the Central Election Commission, 1,224,957 people had cast their ballots by 17:00, representing 48.92% of eligible voters.

Daniel Ioannisyan, a representative of the Independent Observer mission and a human rights activist, said the organisation’s monitors had visited 1,420 polling stations and recorded violations at 387 of them.

“Procedural and relatively minor violations were observed at around 5.5% of polling stations. About 4.5% involved breaches of ballot secrecy, while 4% were related to attempts at psychological pressure or control over voters,” he said.

According to Ioannisyan, 20% of the violations were committed by members of local election commissions and authorised party representatives.

“Of these, 41% involved representatives of Strong Armenia and 26% involved representatives of the Civil Contract party,” he said.

Ioannisyan also reported problems with electronic voter registration devices and voting slips. In some cases, the number displayed by the registration device did not match the number in the voter list, slowing down the voting process and forcing commission members to locate voters manually using the old system.

According to the Central Election Commission, 847,226 people had cast their ballots by 14:00, representing 33.84% of eligible voters.

JAMnews correspondents are monitoring voting at polling stations across Yerevan. According to their reports, the election process is proceeding smoothly, in accordance with the law and in a positive atmosphere.

Here are some of their photographs.

Former Armenian president Robert Kocharyan, the prime ministerial candidate of the Armenia Alliance, said his bloc would be prepared to support whichever opposition force receives the most votes — provided that force is not his own.

He said he was confident that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan would not secure a renewed mandate from voters. If he did, Kocharyan argued, it would be a “catastrophe” for Armenia.

Asked by a journalist whether the “European fairy tale” would prevail if Pashinyan won the election — apparently referring to Armenia’s path towards European integration — Kocharyan was dismissive.

“If the European fairy tale does not prevail, the country will not lose the rational basis for its development. What is being proposed is something whose prospects are not visible for at least the next 20 to 30 years,” he said.

Kocharyan argued that if Pashinyan’s party returns to power, “common sense, the state and the people” will be the losers.

Speaking about Armenia’s relations with Russia and economic restrictions imposed by Moscow, he said Russia could even freeze economic ties with Armenia unilaterally, which he said would be equivalent to suspending Armenia’s membership in the Eurasian Economic Union.

He also described criminal cases launched against opposition figures over alleged vote-buying as a disgrace.

“It feels as though every citizen of this country is being wiretapped and monitored. I do not remember anything like this before, when hundreds of people, all opposition figures without distinction, were facing criminal cases or house arrest. It is simply shameful,” he said, adding that the aim was to instil fear.

According to Gagik Tsarukyan, voters have been turning out in large numbers since polling stations opened at 08:00, something he said he had not witnessed before. In his view, this shows that “people want change”.

“We also voted for change for the better, so that people can live well, earn a decent income and be in good spirits. That’s all,” he told journalists.

Tsarukyan said the opposition has a chance of winning the election if it unites.

“We will definitely win — we’ve already won. We’ll see what happens next. Whoever gets the most votes will nominate their candidate for prime minister.”

Tsarukyan heads his party’s electoral list. However, throughout the campaign he repeatedly said he did not intend to become prime minister himself and that he had “three or four other candidates” in mind for the post, although he has not named them.

On election day, Tsarukyan again criticised the policies of the current authorities, particularly Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, referring to tensions in relations with Russia.

“He talked so much about peace that he started an economic war with Russia. Without an economy, there is no state. People will become poorer, go bankrupt and lose everything they have. We exported one truckload of goods to Europe, while a thousand are sent to Russia every day. Can a country’s problems really be solved with one truckload, my dear friends?” he said.

Police have detained a man who allegedly offered free travel to Armenia for citizens living in Russia so they could take part in the election.

According to the Investigative Committee, on 31 May 2026, A.G., vice-president of the Armenian Business Council of the Russian Federation, used a Telegram channel to promise free transportation to Armenia and assistance with all logistical arrangements to facilitate participation in the vote.

Investigators said pre-trial proceedings were under way to gather evidence and identify all individuals allegedly involved in the scheme, with a view to bringing them to justice.

According to Arman Tatoyan, the prime ministerial candidate from the Wings of Unity party and Armenia’s former ombudsman, the parliamentary election is of historic importance because it will determine the country’s future.

He said he had high hopes for the vote and argued that voters had demonstrated an awareness of the significance of the moment throughout the election campaign.

“I genuinely feel these changes in our country. People value their vote, and that is very important,” he said.

Tatoyan argued that Armenia needs a responsible government that will work solely in the interests of Armenian statehood.

He urged citizens to consider who would be capable of making the right decisions for the country and for their children when casting their ballots. He stressed that such decisions should not be left to outside forces or foreign states.

“This should not be a referendum for foreign interests, nor a choice made in the interests of others. We ourselves, all our cities and villages, must make this choice,” he said.

Several days before the election, the fact-checking platform FIP.am reported what it described as a voter recruitment campaign targeting Armenian citizens living in Russia. According to the investigation, the effort was coordinated by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

Arsen Abramyan, head of the Armenian community in Ulyanovsk, reportedly told a presumed FSB officer — who was in fact a journalist — that community members had been explicitly instructed to vote for the “Russian team”. He also identified Tatoyan’s Wings of Unity party as part of that team.

Prime Ministerial candidate Nikol Pashinyan of the Civil Contract party, who came to power in 2018, has also cast his vote.

Speaking to local and international media after voting, Pashinyan said he expected the election to reflect the free will of Armenia’s citizens.

“When making their choice, people should be guided by the need to protect the state, independence, the future and peace.”

He expressed confidence that the citizens of Armenia would emerge as the winners of the election.

Pashinyan also rejected accusations of “repression” against Strong Armenia, the party led by Russian businessman and billionaire Samvel Karapetyan. He said authorities had documented cases of vote-buying and that state institutions had a responsibility to respond. Throughout the election campaign, the Anti-Corruption Committee periodically reported alleged attempts to buy votes.

Narek Karapetyan, who heads the Strong Armenia alliance’s electoral list, cast his vote in the town of Tashir. He told journalists he had voted for major change in Armenia.

Responding to allegations that Russia was seeking to influence the election through the Strong Armenia alliance, Karapetyan dismissed the claims as an information tactic used by the authorities. He added that Turkey’s foreign minister had openly expressed support for Armenia’s current government, which he said amounted to interference in the country’s internal affairs.

“We believe that no country should interfere in Armenia’s internal affairs, and that democratic elections should be held,” he said.

The office of Armenia’s Ombudsman said it had activated an emergency response regime from early morning to ensure the prompt receipt and review of complaints and reports concerning human rights issues related to the election process, refer them to the relevant authorities and help safeguard citizens’ voting rights.

Voters can also submit complaints, reports and statements concerning human rights issues during the election process through the Ombudsman’s hotline by calling 116 or (+374 96) 116 100.

The office added that it was paying particular attention to information published in the media and on social media relating to human rights issues connected to the election process.