The vote in Armenia on Sunday, April 2, is the first since the adoption of constitutional reforms transforming the ex-Soviet country into a parliamentary republic.
The Central Election Commission presented the election results in Armenia after processing 83% of ballots (1 312712). According to the data, four political forces – the Republican Party of Armenia, the “Tsarukyan” bloc, headed by the big businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, the Dashnaktsutyun party and the Elk bloc, overcame the necessary barrier for passage to the parliament.
The Central Election Commission said early on April 3 that, with votes counted from 50.4 percent of precincts, the Republican Party was ahead of the center-right Tsarukian alliance led by pro-Russia tycoon Gagik Tsarukian, 50.43 percent to 28.29 percent.
The remaining five political entities did not overcome the threshold necessary for passage to parliament; it is necessary to collect at least 5% of the vote. Voter turnout was 60.86%.
However, the campaign has already been marred by opposition claims that the government is preparing mass electoral fraud.
Ahead of the vote, the European Union delegation to Armenia and the US embassy said in a joint statement that they were “concerned by allegations of voter intimidation, attempts to buy votes, and the systemic use of administrative resources to aid certain competing parties”. Sarkisian has regularly denied the allegations.
