Sergei Grits
Former President Robert Kocharyan and his party bloc Armenia complained that masses of leaflets were distributed in the capital Yerevan, on which the 66-year-old can be seen with blood on his hands and on his shirt. Kocharyan spoke of a “monstrous incident”. Along with the incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, he is the favorite in the vote on Sunday.
Long queues formed in front of the polling stations, as a reporter from the German Press Agency in Yerevan reported. Many people said they were disappointed with Pashinyan, who came to power in a revolution in 2018. But quite a few also complained that neither the head of government nor Kocharyan had a “clean slate”. The two cast their votes in Yerevan.
A total of around 2.6 million people were called to vote in the completely impoverished country. Supporters from 21 parties and 4 political blocs are competing for at least 101 seats in parliament – more than ever before. The turnout was around 27 percent in the early afternoon, as the election commission announced.
Prime Minister Pashinyan had called the vote under pressure from the opposition – after the war in the autumn over the conflict region Nagorno-Karabakh with Azerbaijan, in which Armenia is considered the loser. The opposition blames Pashinyan for massive territorial losses. Around 6,500 people died on both sides.
Political scientist Alexander Iskandaryan did not rule out new violent protests after the election. After the polling stations closed at 8 p.m. (6 p.m. CEST), the first results were expected late on Sunday evening. A clear picture should only be available on Monday.