Voters in Armenia began casting their votes in the early parliamentary elections, which come after a political crisis that swept the country against the background of the results of the war with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
25 parties and political blocs will participate in the elections; It is the largest number in the country’s history, and the number of voters is estimated at 2,600,000 to choose more than 100 members for a 5-year term in a vote based on proportional representation. Read also The Karabakh Agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia.. This is Turkey’s role and these are its gains The end of the war between Armenia and Azerbaijan .. winners and losers The beginning in Kalbajar.. and this is the path of Armenia handing over the rest of Karabakh to Azerbaijan
Armenians
Rania Dridi, Al-Jazeera correspondent in the Armenian capital, said that the authorities were keen to put in place strict controls to ensure that the electoral process would not be disturbed or violations occurred, and only allowed citizens inside the country to cast their votes, unlike the previous elections.
The two main opponents
Former journalist Nikol Pashinyan – who became prime minister in 2018 after a peaceful revolution against the old corrupt elites – is competing with his opponent, former President Robert Kocharian, who accuses his rival of incompetence and presents himself as an experienced leader.
Pashinyan’s record popularity collapsed after Armenia was defeated in a war against its neighbor Azerbaijan in the fall of 2020. After 6 weeks of battles that left more than 6,500 dead; Yerevan was forced to cede important lands it had held since the war in the early 1990s for control of the separatist, Armenian-majority Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.
This defeat, which was considered a national humiliation, sparked a political crisis in Armenia, forcing Pashinyan to call early elections in the hope of easing tensions and strengthening his legitimacy.
Ansar abandonment
Despite the reforms made by the Prime Minister; Many of his supporters abandoned him after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and moved to the ranks of his opponent, despite their association with the old elites accused of pillaging the country.
After receiving more than 70% of the votes in the legislative elections in 2018; Pashinyan is currently seeking 60%, but the only available poll gives his Civil Contract party only 25% behind Kocharian’s party, which is expected to win 29% of the vote.
There are other parties among the 25 competing formations that may be able to enter parliament, according to the poll published – the day before Friday – by the MBG Institute of the International Gallup Foundation.
at the risk of electoral defeat or an unresolved outcome of the ballot; Pashinyan called on his countrymen to vote to give him a “mandate of steel”. And he said – last Thursday – that “Armenians see that there are forces that provoke political confrontations and civil war.”
An invitation to calm
In the final days of the campaign, both rivals staged a show of force, each gathering some 20,000 supporters in the central square in Yerevan, the capital of this poor and mountainous country.
Kocharyan led the ex-Soviet republic from 1998 to 2008, and his critics suspect him of being corrupt. And he said – on Friday – to his supporters that “the government is unable to solve our current problems.”
“Unlike the current political administration, we are a team that has experience, knowledge, strength and will,” Kocharian added, warning against attempts to “steal our votes,” as he said.
After the election campaign revealed a deep rift between the two main camps; Many observers expect protests or even riots after the elections.
President Armen Sarkissian considered “incitement to hatred and enmity” unacceptable, calling on his citizens to vote “with integrity and freedom.” If today’s elections do not lead to any majority or majority coalition, a second round will have to be organized – on July 18th – between the two parties that receive the highest percentage of votes.