Russian Oligarch's Party in Armenia Demands Election Results Annulled

The "Strong Armenia" party, led by Russian oligarch Samvel Karapetyan, has officially appealed to Armenia's Central Election Commission (CEC) to annul the results of the parliamentary elections held on June 7. Party representative Aram Vardevanyan stated that the application includes "all massive electoral violations that occurred both before and during the voting" and argued that the post-election process is unacceptable in a democratic society.

In the elections, "Strong Armenia" received 23.2% of the vote, promising to maintain close ties with Russia, from which Armenia imports most of its energy. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's party, "Civil Contract," which has strengthened relations with Western countries since coming to power in 2018, won with 49.8% of the vote. Pashinyan called the victory "historic," claiming it would ensure the eternity and development of the Republic of Armenia.

The elections took place amid increased pressure from Moscow on Yerevan due to Pashinyan's course toward rapprochement with the EU. The CEC is expected to publish the final results on Sunday. On Thursday, the commission invalidated vote counts at two polling stations, citing the gathering of soldiers after the stations closed.