Armenia`s ruling Civil Contract party receives 50.86% of the vote, and the opposition is outraged by the disgraceful conduct of the elections

ArmInfo. According to the Central Electoral Commission, as of 6:30 AM on June 8, Armenia's ruling Civil Contract party received 50.86% (414,608) of the votes cast.

The data is presented after processing 55.95% of the ballots received from 1,296 polling stations out of 2,005. The Strong Armenia bloc came in second, with 23.19% (1,890,560 votes). The Armenia bloc came in third, with 9.6% (78,275 votes). The Prosperous Armenia party came in fourth, with 33,417 votes, or 4.1% of the total.

Other political forces have not yet gained seats in the country's parliament. According to current legislation, the threshold for entering the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia is 4% for parties and 8% for blocs.

It should be noted that long before the end of the election campaign, the leader of the Civil Contract party, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, declared his political force's victory. He held a briefing in which he announced the continuation of the policy of institutionalizing peace, regional cooperation, and normalizing relations with neighbors. Pashinyan expressed hope for the imminent signing of a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. According to the Prime Minister, Yerevan also expects further progress in normalizing relations with Turkey, opening its borders with Armenia, and establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries. He also expressed gratitude for the opportunity to use the Baku-Akhalkalaki-Kars railway for Armenian cargo shippers.

The head of the Armenian government also discussed the "Crossroads of the World" project, which is expected to radically transform the region's economic and transport architecture. Pashinyan noted that this is truly a very important project, as the country is transforming from a dead end into a crossroads of paths and opportunities.

The Prime Minister also touched on the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union. He stated that Yerevan will continue its rapprochement with Brussels while simultaneously developing cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). "We will continue our rapprochement with the EU, but we will also maintain our membership in the EAEU. We will actively develop our relations with Russia and other EAEU countries," Pashinyan said, noting that Armenia is not yet ready to join the EU. To do so, reforms must be carried out and the country brought up to EU standards.

The Prime Minister took the opportunity to once again lash out at his main opponents. According to him, Samvel Karapetyan (leader of the Strong Armenia bloc), Robert Kocharyan (leader of the Armenia bloc), and Gagik Tsarukyan (leader of the Prosperous Armenia bloc) will all go to prison. "I will do everything I said during the campaign," the head of the Armenian government declared.

Meanwhile, the country's opposition forces viewed the Civil Contract party's early announcement of victory as an attempt to usurp power. The Armenia bloc issued a statement emphasizing that Pashinyan's claims of victory amount to a criminal act aimed at usurping power, substituting for the Central Election Commission, and grossly interfering in its activities.

In turn, during a late-night press conference, Strong Armenia bloc leader Samvel Karapetyan called the elections an "unprecedented and flagrant outrage" and urged citizens not to panic, as the electoral process is not yet over, and announcing a victory with data from 30% of polling stations available is manipulation. He also drew attention to the unprecedented violations recorded during the election process and ballot processing. "There has never been a case in global practice where the vote count was interrupted with a request to submit the votes in the morning. That is, having noticed a significant drop in the number of votes, they simply stopped the counting," said Samvel Karapetyan, also pointing to the widespread pressure the bloc has been subjected to in recent months: approximately 75 members of the political party have been arrested, and over 700 people have been detained. Other politicians have also reacted to the ruling party's victory. For example, Arman Tatoyan, leader of the Wings of Unity party, believes that RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has exceeded his authority.