Category: News

In Armenia’s elections, a choice: Stay in Russia’s orbit or engage with the W

Chakrian Hovsep
Christian Science Monitor
June 5 2026
By Alexander Thompson Correspondent

In 2020, Armenia suffered a huge military defeat at the hands of its historic rival Azerbaijan. Three years later, Azerbaijan compounded the indignity by overrunning the breakaway statelet of Nagorno-Karabakh, displacing its ethnically Armenian inhabitants.

For many Armenians, the losses were a deep humiliation, and they laid the blame at the feet of their prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan – all the more so because he signed a peace deal framework at the White House last August between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Now, Mr. Pashinyan is trying not just to realize peace, but to dramatically – and controversially – shift the foreign policy that has guided the Maryland-sized nation of 3 million since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. He is seeking a thaw with historic enemies Azerbaijan and Turkey while also reducing Armenia’s dependence on its traditional ally Russia, by building new links to the European Union and the United States.

Why We Wrote This

As Armenia goes to the polls Sunday, voters face a thorny dilemma. Do they back a prime minister who led them during embarrassing military defeats, but is seeking a brighter future? Or do they opt for pro-Russia parties supporting the status quo?

And on June 7, Armenians will get to vote in parliamentary elections that will decide whether Mr. Pashinyan, the man who lost the war, will get a chance to execute his vision of peace.

“It’s a choice between the current trajectory versus the possibility of a reversal,” says Anna Ohanyan, an international relations professor at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts.

A painful peace proposal

Mr. Pashinyan, a pugilistic former newspaper editor, came to power in 2018 after leading massive street protests against the rigid, authoritarian elite who had run Armenia since independence. He undertook a series of democratic reforms, but he stuck to Armenia’s alliance with Russia.

Then in 2020, Azerbaijan resoundingly defeated Armenian forces that had long occupied a swath of western Azerbaijan to protect nominally independent Nagorno-Karabakh. The Kremlin brokered an agreement to keep the enclave out of Azerbaijani control and deployed 2,000 Russian peacekeepers to guard it. Despite the Armenian defeat, Mr. Pashinyan won a comfortable victory in a 2021 snap election.

But much has changed since. In 2023, Azerbaijan launched a new offensive and quickly overwhelmed Nagorno-Karabakh with little resistance from the Russian peacekeepers or Moscow – a betrayal for many Armenians. Some 100,000 residents fled to Armenia. And Mr. Pashinyan has engaged in an ugly feud with the Armenian Apostolic Church, further driving down his popularity.

Nonetheless, a late-May poll showed his Civil Contract party with a wide lead of 32% of the vote against a divided and equally unpopular opposition, with many people, especially young people, still undecided.

At a campaign stop in the lakeside town of Sevan, an hour’s drive north of the capital, Yerevan, Mr. Pashinyan told a few hundred supporters that a peace deal with Azerbaijan, combined with promised U.S. support and investment, will bring peace and prosperity to Armenia.

Some voters are amenable, if reluctantly.

“I’ll put it this way: I don’t love one or the other, [but] we’ve got to choose so that Armenia develops,” says Aram Sargisan, a jeweler from Yerevan who indicated he’ll vote for Civil Contract.

Mr. Pashinyan is pushing to finalize the peace deal and to normalize relations with Turkey by dropping historical territorial claims and accepting what he calls “Real Armenia” – the 11,500 square miles within its internationally recognized borders. Reopening trade with Turkey and Azerbaijan will allow the economy to flourish, Mr. Pashinyan argues.

But it is a tough pitch. The Ottoman government in Turkey killed around 1 million Armenians in events widely considered to be a genocide during World War I, and the very recent military humiliation against Azerbaijan still stings.

Anna, a design student at Yerevan State University who declined to give her last name, isn’t sure for whom she will cast her ballot. But she is certain of one thing: It won’t be for Mr. Pashinyan. Reconciliation with Turkey and Azerbaijan isn’t possible, says Anna, who lost great-grandparents in the genocide. “I cannot forget what they did to Armenia,” she says.

Reshaping Armenia’s relations

Sunday’s elections have earned unprecedented attention from the White House and the Kremlin, since the prime minister’s international plans would significantly shift the balance of power at the crossroads of Europe and Asia.

Mr. Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a peace deal framework at the White House Aug. 9 with U.S. President Donald Trump sitting between them. Key to the peace is the “Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity,” a trade corridor that will run through southern Armenia, connect Azerbaijan’s mainland to its exclave of Nakhchivan, and then continue on to Turkey.

The corridor will be developed by the United States, representing a bridgehead for American influence in a region Russia considers well within its sphere of influence.

The Trump administration views the peace deal framework as one of its key foreign policy achievements and is squarely behind Mr. Pashinyan.

Vice President JD Vance came to Armenia in February, the highest-level American official to ever visit the country, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio jetted into Yerevan May 26 to hype the deal. On May 28, Mr. Trump posted a social media endorsement of Mr. Pashinyan, calling him a “great friend and Leader.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, has dialed up pressure on Mr. Pashinyan as he has made overtures westward.

In recent weeks, Russia has threatened its supply of discounted gas to Armenia, banned most agricultural imports from the country, and demanded Yerevan decide whether it wants to join the EU or stay in a Russia-led customs union “as soon as possible.”

Russia is also conducting an influence campaign against Mr. Pashinyan, and mulled a plan to fly thousands of Russian Armenians back to the country to vote against him, Reuters reported this week, citing Western intelligence officials.

Yet, despite talk of a pivot to Europe and the U.S., Armenia’s economy remains intertwined with Russia’s, and Russia has a military base in Armenia.

“Armenia does not want to abandon relations with Russia,” says Sargis Khandanyan, a Civil Contract member of Parliament. “Our foreign policy is a foreign policy of balances.”

Russian gravity

Mr. Pashinyan’s principal opponents in the election, who are closely aligned with Russia, vehemently oppose the prime minister’s peace plans with Azerbaijan.

Armenian Russian oligarch Samvel Karapetyan, leader of the Strong Armenia party, has emerged as Mr. Pashinyan’s main challenger. He wants to scrap the peace framework with Azerbaijan in favor of retaining firm ties with Russia.

Mr. Pashinyan is ruining the alliance with Russia, said Karen, a veteran of the Karabakh conflict who declined to give his last name, as he waited for a Strong Armenia rally to begin on June 3. “We’ve been friends with the Russians for so many years.”

Though thousands of his supporters marched at the rally, Mr. Karapetyan did not; he was under house arrest, and appeared only by video link. Authorities arrested him last year on charges of calling for the overthrow of the government. Mr. Karapetyan has called the allegations politically motivated.

Yet neither former President Robert Kocharyan, Mr. Pashinyan’s other pro-Russia challenger who is widely viewed as a relic of a previous era, nor Mr. Karapetyan have offered a concrete alternative to Mr. Pashinyan’s peace plan, says Yevgenya Paturyan, a political science professor at the American University of Armenia in Yerevan. “Only those who really hate Pashinyan and want him out at any cost are willing to follow these guys,” she says.

So, the unpopular prime minister and his “Real Armenia” vision may come away with victory on Sunday.

“We want peace, to be friends with everyone, to open the borders, to trade,” Pashinyan supporter Aida Navasardyan said as the prime minister’s campaign bus pulled out of Sevan. “No one wants war anymore.”

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RFE/RL – Voting Underway In Armenian Parliamentary Elections

Dabaghian Diana

June 07, 2026

Armenia – A voter casts a ballot at a polling station in Yerevan, June 7, 2026.

Armenians voted on Sunday in parliamentary elections that will extend or end Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s eight-year rule and pro-Western foreign policy increasingly resented by Russia.

Sixteen political parties and two alliances vied for over 100 seats in Armenia’s parliament. The opposition alliances led by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetian and former President Robert Kocharian as well as Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) are the ruling Civil Contract party’s main challengers. Among other opposition contenders are former human rights ombudsman Arman Tatoyan’s Wings of Unity party, former President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress and Edmon Marukian’s Bright Armenia Party.

The elections were held solely under the system of proportional representation. The parties needed to win at least 4 percent of the vote in order to be represented in the new parliament. The legal threshold for blocs is set at 8 percent.

“My expectations are the _expression_ of the free will of Armenian citizens,” Pashinian told reporters after casting a ballot at a polling station in Yerevan.

When asked what he will do if he loses the elections, he said: “Whatever the people decide, we will do it.”

Karapetian and his bloc are widely regarded as the ruling party’s number one challenger. The 60-year-old billionaire and philanthropist, who has made his fortune in Russian, decided to enter politics following his controversial arrest in June last year.

Under the Armenian constitution, he cannot become prime minister or even parliament deputy because of also having Russian and Cypriot citizenships. Strong Armenia’s list of election candidates is topped by Karapetian’s nephew Narek.

Armenia – Armenians vote in parliamentary elections, Yerevan, June 7m 2026.

“I voted for a big change in our country and a resurgent Armenia where Armenians are mostly focused on building their country and not on hurting or fighting each other,” Narek Karapetian said at a polling station in the northern town of Tashir.

The election campaign was marked by Pashinian’s threats to jail and “take out” the three top opposition leaders and mass arrests of their supporters on vote-buying charges rejected by the opposition as politically motivated. Karapetian’s bloc has been the main target of the crackdown which it believes is aimed at boosting Civil Contract’s electoral chances. Dozens more of its members and supporters as well as six of its election candidates were arrested on Saturday.

The Anti-Corruption Committee, one of the two law-enforcement agencies spearheading the crackdown, said earlier on Saturday that it detained 194 people in recent weeks. It said that 84 of them are currently in jail or under house arrest.

Pashinian’s party itself has been accused by its political opponents and some media of using public money to buy votes. None of its members or other government loyalists has been prosecuted on election-related charges.

The parliamentary race has also led to a further deterioration of Armenia’s relations with Russia, its traditional allies irked by the Armenian government’s efforts to close ties with the West and, in particular, join the European Union. After Yerevan hosted two European summits in early May, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the South Caucasus nation should choose “as soon as possible” between European integration and its continued membership in a Russian-led trade bloc essential for the Armenian economy.

Armenia – Armenians vote in parliamentary elections, Yerevan, June 7, 2026.

In the following weeks, Russia effectively banned on sanitary grounds the multimillion-dollar import of Armenian agricultural products and beverages. On Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman urged Armenian voters to “save” their country.

The EU responded by accusing Moscow of seeking to influence the election outcome through “economic coercion.” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday that the EU will provide Yerevan with at least 50 million euros ($58 million) in urgent economic assistance.

The three main opposition forces running in the polls have blamed Pashinian for the sanctions and pledged to repair Russian-Armenian elections if they defeat the ruling party. Moscow has not openly backed any of them. Nevertheless, Pashinian has repeatedly branded them as Russian “agents” on the campaign trail.

U.S. President Donald Trump endorsed Pashinian for reelection on May 28, citing the latter’s commitment to opening a U.S.-run transit corridor for Azerbaijan. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan signed in the following days a new bilateral agreement on practical modalities of the transit arrangement. Rubio suggested on June 2 that the Russians would like to see Pashinian voted out of office because they are “less than happy about our engagement” in Armenia.

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Verelq: At night, 2 presidents and 1 secretary of the election commission were arrested.

Emil Lazarian

In 48 out of 2005 polling stations, we had 50 absences of committee members, 2 of them were the chairman and 1 was the secretary. For example, the absence of 2 presidents and 1 secretary is due to criminal proceedings. CEC President Vahagn Hovakimyan mentioned this today, on June 7, during his first press conference.


“They were arrested at night. We also have a case where the mother of the committee chairman died at night. The problem is related to the human factor. In some polling stations, there were technical problems when the device printed the ticket and the voter’s serial number was there, but one or two digits were different in the list. In this case, where there was such a problem, the voter was instructed to sign in front of his name.


The Electoral Code gives an opportunity to continue the work, even if there are vacancies, if necessary, new members are appointed,” he said.


Let’s remind that today, on June 7, parliamentary elections are taking place in Armenia, in which 18 political forces are participating: 2 alliances and 16 parties. 2 million 485 thousand 851 citizens have the right to vote.

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ANC warns about the violation of electoral rights

Emil Lazarian

The Armenian National Congress issued a statement regarding the violation of electoral rights and attempts to involve state bodies in unconstitutional actions.


“2026 on June 6, leading members of the “Civil Contract” party, Vahagn Aleksanyan, Arsen Torosyan, as well as the head of the “Independent Observer” observation mission, Daniel Ioanisyan, made video messages. In them, there are clear threats to initiate fabricated criminal cases against our fellow citizens returning to the Republic of Armenia and intending to participate in the elections.


Moreover, the said persons give explicit instructions and instructions to the law enforcement authorities to arrest the arriving citizens and “find out” the purposes of their return.


This way of working is nothing but an open attempt to involve the state and law enforcement agencies in activities aimed at subverting the constitutional order by abusing their official position and party affiliation. This is a call for political persecution against compatriots and a gross interference with the electoral right of RA citizens guaranteed by the Constitution.


We find that, if the law enforcement agencies really have a reason to study and make a criminal assessment, then it is precisely the illegal statements and actions of the above-mentioned persons. The state system cannot serve as a tool to hinder the expression of the will of the people. And if there are violations of the law, then they should be revealed according to the law, and not become an occasion for propaganda prohibited by the law.”

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Since the morning, the law enforcement system has been engaged in obstructing the electoral process

Emil Lazarian

 


Since the morning, the law enforcement system has engaged in actions to obstruct the electoral process. The “Armenia” alliance issued a statement about this.


In particular, it is said in the statement. The members of the pre-election headquarters of the “Armenia” bloc are illegally detained and/or arrested for various reasons, including under the pretext of being questioned as a witness.


This shameful and illegal behavior is not only an attempt to subject the public to information terror, but also a gross violation of electoral rights.


We request the observation missions and the Central Electoral Commission to record this fact.


We call on the voters not to succumb to these illegal actions and confidently fulfill their constitutional right. The persons who organize and implement these illegalities are threatened with the strictest liability established by law.”

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In the HRD staff, issues related to electoral rights are constantly addressed

Yeghisabet Arthur

On June 7, the day of the National Assembly elections, the staff of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia has been working since early morning. This was reported by the HRD staff.


On the instructions of the defender, emergency duty is carried out for the purpose of immediate reception, discussion, addressing to the relevant bodies of complaints and alerts received on human rights issues related to electoral processes and effective protection of citizens’ electoral rights.


The round-the-clock hotline of the Ombudsman’s office also operates in emergency mode, through which citizens are provided with advice and necessary support in matters related to the exercise of their electoral rights.


Particular attention is paid to the information published in the mass media and social platforms regarding human rights during the election process, which are subject to monitoring and study.


Citizens can submit complaints, alarms and applications related to human rights in the electoral process through the hotline of the Human Rights Defender’s staff by calling 116 or (096) 116 100.

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The number of RA citizens who arrived in Armenia before the elections is less than

Alex Jidarian

In the period from May 1 to June 4, 2026, the number of RA citizens who arrived in Armenia was less than in the same days of the previous year. The difference was 13 thousand 390 RA citizens or 7.5 percent less.


Based on the data provided by the National Security Service, Factor.am found out that 193 thousand 47 RA citizens arrived in Armenia by air and land in May and the first 4 days of June 2025, and 179 thousand 657 RA citizens in the same days of 2026.


At the same time, 2571 more RA citizens arrived in Armenia by air through the checkpoints of Gyumri’s “Shirak” and Yerevan’s “Zvartnots” airports than in 2025. Last year their number was 79 thousand 670, this year – 82 thousand 241 citizens.


Earlier, Factor.am presented studies according to which the number of flights from Russia to Armenia increased by 30% on June 1-3, and by about 33% on June 4-6. Thus, the claims that 100 thousand people are brought from Russia to participate in the June 7 elections, either do not correspond to reality, or last year more Armenian citizens came to their homeland for personal reasons.

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Human Rights Defender’s Office conducts election-day monitoring

Emil Lazarian
Armenia09:21, 7 June 2026
Read the article in: FrançaisՀայերենRussian

The Human Rights Defender’s Office said on Sunday that its staff has been on duty since early morning to conduct independent monitoring of any potential human rights-related complaints or reports on election day.

The Human Rights Defender’s Office has launched a round-the-clock hotline for consultations and support.

Media monitoring is also being carried out in relation to human rights-related information concerning the electoral process.

The Human Rights Defender’s Office can be reached via the 116 hotline or at 096 116 100.

Read the article in: FrançaisՀայերենRussian

Published by Armenpress, original at 
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Narek Karapetyan casts ballot, calls for ‘major change and revitalized Armeni

Jane Topchian
Read the article in: ArmenianRussian:

Strong Armenia bloc leader Samvel Karapetyan’s nephew, Narek Karapetyan, cast his ballot on Sunday morning in the parliamentary elections.

Narek Karapetyan is formally the top candidate on the Strong Armenia ticket, but the alliance has said that his uncle is its choice for prime minister if it wins a majority.

Speaking to reporters after casting his vote in his hometown of Tashir, Narek Karapetyan said that he voted for “major change and a revitalized Armenia.”

Asked what he voted for, he said:

“For an Armenia where Armenians are primarily engaged in rebuilding their country rather than harming one another, fighting among themselves, or living in constant confrontation. Let us rebuild our country and finally shake off this atmosphere of division. Let us make our country a strongly developing and powerful state—one that future generations can make even stronger, instead of facing the same problems again.”

Karapetyan also urged voters to take part in the election and cast their ballots.

A total of 2,005 polling stations opened at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday across Armenia for the parliamentary election. More than 70 media outlets are covering the polls, while 13 local and eight international organizations are conducting election observation missions.

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Election day proceeding normally, says CEC

Markos Nalchajian
Read the article in: ArmenianRussian:

Three election commission officials, including two precinct chairs and a secretary, did not show up for duty on election day at their assigned stations because they were arrested amid an ongoing criminal investigation, Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission Chairman Vahagn Hovakimyan has said.

Hovakimyan delivered a press briefing on election day, shortly after all 2,005 polling stations across the country opened for the parliamentary elections.

He reported minor technical issues in some places but said that everything is proceeding normally.

“All polling stations began their work at 07:00 in the morning, and from 08:00 all polling stations started receiving voters. As of 08:00, out of 2,005 polling stations, commission members were absent in 48. Of the total 50 absentees, three are two precinct commission chairs and one secretary, whose failure to appear is due to criminal proceedings. However, I should note that the Electoral Code allows the process to continue even if any member of the election commission is absent. If necessary, the heads of territorial election commissions appoint new members,” he said.

According to Hovakimyan, some technical issues arose at polling stations during this time, but they were quickly resolved on the spot. Overall, the voting process is proceeding normally.

Referring to the preparatory work ahead of June 7, Hovakimyan noted that the Central Electoral Commission had organized training sessions: around 4,000 participants were technical equipment operators, and about 16,000 were members of local election commissions. Special training was also conducted for precinct chairs and secretaries.

Addressing the question of what penalties would apply to citizens attempting to photograph ballots or take them out of polling stations, the CEC chair said:

“First, it is not allowed to take photos or in any way violate the secrecy of the vote. The secrecy of the vote is not only a right but also an obligation. Most importantly, it is not allowed to use a pen during voting; there is no need for it. If there is any mark on the envelope or ballot, that vote will be considered invalid. And generally, I do not understand the urge to photograph the ballot—there are many ballots in the voting booth; one can take pictures of those if they wish. The system excludes any illegal control over the voting process.”

Read the article in: ArmenianRussian:

Published by Armenpress, original at 
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