Armenians go to polls in test of PM’s pivot to Europe amid Russian pressure

Voting is nether mode successful Armenia’s parliamentary election, seen arsenic a trial of the government’s efforts to forge a bid woody with rival Azerbaijan and loosen ties with Moscow.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his ruling Civil Contract enactment are seeking a beardown mandate to proceed a geopolitical reorientation towards Europe and distant from erstwhile imperial ruler Russia. The absorption they look includes respective parties that are vocally pro-Moscow.

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Casting his ballot connected Sunday, Pashinyan said Armenia would proceed strengthening its independence, statehood, ideology and regularisation of law. “The European Union is our main spouse successful antiauthoritarian betterment implementation and we volition proceed that path,” helium said.

He besides stressed that determination were nary tensions betwixt Armenia and Moscow, saying, “our relations with Russia are organization and based connected communal respect,” the Armenpress quality bureau reported.

Pashinyan has moved Armenia closer to the West and distant from Russia since coming to powerfulness successful 2018, drafting the ire of Moscow.

Russian officials deed Armenian exports with restrictions successful caller weeks, portion high-ranking officials, including President Vladimir Putin, person made thinly veiled threats comparing Armenia’s way to that already taken by Ukraine.

A time earlier the vote, Armenian investigators said they issued six apprehension warrants for members of the Strong Armenia party, accusing them of buying votes.

The nation’s Central Election Committee confirmed connected Saturday that the enactment could tally aft a subordinate of different absorption party, Republic, appealed for Strong Armenia to beryllium barred implicit corruption allegations.

Armenia’s parliament, the National Assembly, indispensable dwell of astatine slightest 101 members who are elected for five-year terms. Parties indispensable triumph astatine slightest 4 percent of the ballot to instrumentality a seat, portion blocs made up of 3 oregon much parties indispensable deed 8 percent.

Two governmental blocs and 17 parties are taking portion successful the election. Most pollsters and experts person predicted Pashinyan, who came to powerfulness successful 2018 pursuing sweeping thoroughfare protests, volition travel retired ahead.

Polls opened astatine 8am section clip (04:00 GMT) connected Sunday and volition adjacent astatine 8pm (16:00 GMT).

Security and individuality apical predetermination issues

Pashinyan has framed the ballot arsenic a prime betwixt a lasting bid with Azerbaijan oregon a instrumentality to war.

His bid efforts person taken centre signifier successful his campaign, which includes an agreement helium signed astatine the White House past August with Azerbaijan aft an on-and-off warfare that has raged since the precocious 1980s. The struggle came to an extremity successful 2023, erstwhile the Azerbaijan service seized power of the enclave and astir of the Armenian colonisation fled.

Supporters of the incumbent leader, meanwhile, person praised his governance, with the gross home merchandise per capita doubling since helium took power.

“I truly similar however Armenia has been increasing close earlier my eyes,” 39-year-old elector Karine Darbinyan told the Reuters quality bureau astatine a rally for Pashinyan successful Yerevan’s cardinal quadrate connected Friday.

Pashinyan gestures aft casting a ballot astatine a polling presumption during a parliamentary predetermination successful Yerevan [Reuters]

The 51-year-old has besides sought to loosen Armenia’s dependence connected Moscow, aft it failed to assistance during the Karabakh conflict, saying Armenia would prosecute a balanced overseas argumentation aft the vote.

Maria Titizian, editor-in-chief of EVN Report, an online quality mag based successful Yerevan, said the cardinal issues for voters are related to information and identity.

“It’s astir however Armenia should warrant its information successful a profoundly changed, altered determination environment, what benignant of narration it should person with Russia, particularly aft galore of the assumptions that underpinned its post-Soviet information architecture were fundamentally shaken, [and] whether it should proceed deepening ties with Europe, the US, and what bid could oregon should look similar with Azerbaijan,” Titizian told Al Jazeera, speaking from the capital.

The run has been marked by fear-mongering, she said, with the incumbent enactment saying that if the pro-Russian absorption wins, we volition “definitely person warfare with Azerbaijan”, and the pro-Russian parties “saying that if we chopped ties with Russia, the economical fallout volition beryllium catastrophic for the country”.

Pro-Russia opposition

Pashinyan has faced a question of disapproval from the absorption and immoderate sections of the nationalist who person accused him of capitulating to Azerbaijan.

Armenia’s absorption is dominated by the Strong Armenia party, formed past twelvemonth by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who is nether location apprehension connected charges of plotting a coup. He wants to support Armenia adjacent to Russia, a cardinal supplier of vigor and purchaser of exports.

At a Strong Armenia rally successful Yerevan past week, a pistillate who gave her sanction lone arsenic Gayane said she supported Karapetyan due to the fact that helium would guarantee “that our Armenia remains Armenian”.

She said her roots were successful Nagorno-Karabakh, the breakaway territory inhabited by taste Armenians that was retaken by Azerbaijan successful the 2023 war.

“The existent authorities person taken distant that anticipation from us. And Samvel Karapetyan has present fixed america caller anticipation that we tin astatine slightest sphere our Armenia and our traditions,” Gayane told Reuters.

Pashinyan’s antiauthoritarian grounds is besides connected the ballot paper. Eight years aft helium swept to powerfulness connected a committedness to dismantle Armenia’s oligarchic system, helium faces expanding accusations of antiauthoritarian backsliding.

The authorities has broadly defended the actions of instrumentality enforcement agencies against individuals whom it says are trying to foment coups.

Karapetyan casts his ballot successful Armenia’s parliamentary predetermination [Karen Minasyan/AFP]