Rival parties have demanded a full annulment of the vote while blasting the electoral authorities over their refusal to recount ballots at several stations

Published 15 Jun, 2026 13:40 | Updated 15 Jun, 2026 14:18

Hundreds of protesters have rallied outside Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission (CEC), demanding the annulment of parliamentary election results amid a crackdown on the opposition and claims of widespread fraud.

On Sunday, the CEC announced the final results of the election, with the ruling pro-EU Civil Contract party receiving 49.74% of the vote. The Strong Armenia bloc – founded by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan – came in second with 23.27%, while Armenia Alliance secured 9.92%.

Prosperous Armenia received only 3.98%, narrowly missing the 4% parliamentary threshold. All three opposition parties are Euroskeptic and advocate closer ties with Russia, which remains Armenia’s key trade partner and dominant energy supplier.

As the CEC was processing the results and addressing numerous recount demands, activists from Strong Armenia, Prosperous Armenia, and several other parties gathered outside the building. According to videos from the scene, the protests unfolded peacefully, with heavy police presence on site.

RT’s Roman Kosarev, reporting from the scene, noted that many protesters believe that they had been “cheated or even robbed,” and that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan “pulled out all the stops to usurp power.”

Representatives of the opposition parties boycotted the CEC session, accusing its head, Vahagn Hovakimyan, of essentially working for Civil Contract and undermining democracy. Footage from the scene also showed members of Civil Contract exiting the CEC, with protesters chanting “Shame!”

While the CEC recounted votes for 637 polling stations out of more than 2,000, it declined to do so for three specific stations, arguing that the move would not impact the overall results, triggering accusations that the refusal was “illegal.”

READ MORE: Fraud allegations and street protests: What’s happening in Armenia after pivotal parliamentary election?

Prosperous Armenia has been among the most vocal forces calling for protests as its potential entry into the parliament hinged on mere dozens of votes. At an earlier rally, party representatives accused the commission of “arithmetic tricks” and handed Hovakimyan watercolor paints, brushes, and paper – in an apparent hint that he was allegedly fabricating the results.

Meanwhile, the opposition came under a crackdown before, during, and after the election. On June 6 – the day before the election – six candidates from Strong Armenia were arrested on charges of vote-buying and money laundering, with dozens more activists arrested during the election. Following the vote, Armenian authorities brought criminal charges against more than 100 people, most of which were related to purported electoral corruption.

In addition, the office of former President Robert Kocharyan, the head of Armenia Alliance, said on Sunday that he was banned from leaving the country, with officials providing no explanation.

At the same time, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan lashed out at his opponents, saying that the government’s next key political task would be “in the literal sense, depriving” opposition prime ministerial candidates of their property.