Armenia PM heads for win to cement Westward shift

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's party led the opposition Monday in early results from parliamentary elections that could cement his Westward tilt, after threats from Moscow and claims of Russian interference.

Armenia and Russia are technically allies, but Moscow has compared the former Soviet republic's ambitions to join the European Union to the path it claims triggered its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Early results showed the ruling Civil Contract party leading Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan's Strong Armenia alliance by 51.2 to 23 percent, with 32.2 percent of electoral precincts reporting, the Central Election Commission said.

Two other opposition forces -- ex-president Robert Kocharyan's "Armenia" alliance and the Prosperous Armenia party -- also cleared the electoral threshold, winning 9.9 percent and 4.1 percent of the vote, respectively.

Turnout was 59 percent, the commission said.

Pashinyan hailed his party's "historic victory that will ensure Armenia's eternity and development."

He pledged to "continue the course of rapprochement with the West" while also developing Armenia's relations with Russia.

"The Armenian people voted for regional prosperity and cooperation, and I hope this will draw a positive response from Turkey and Azerbaijan," he told a news conference, adding that "we need to institutionalise peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan."

He also vowed "the final eradication of the criminal-oligarchic system from Armenia," saying: "The leaders of these forces must be held criminally liable."

AFP