Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, a senior member of the Civil Contract party led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, cast his ballot on Sunday in the parliamentary elections at polling station 6/52 in Yerevan.

He told reporters afterward that he voted for “Armenia’s peace and development.”

Asked about his expectations for the elections, Mirzoyan said he was confident voter turnout would be very high.

“This is the impression I gained during the election campaign. People are very interested in the elections and understand that the future of our country depends on each and every vote. I have seen this awareness widely among our public, which is why I believe turnout will be very high.

I can also say that our people are very wise and fully understand all the nuances and challenges. I believe that in these elections, the overwhelming majority of citizens of the Republic of Armenia will vote in favor of peace. In this regard, the Armenian people will once again show the entire world that they are committed to peace,” the minister said.

Former President Serzh Sargsyan has called on voters to actively participate in the parliamentary elections after casting his ballot on Sunday. 

Sargsyan and his Republican Party are not running for office.

He told reporters after casting his ballot that he voted for “an Armenia capable of safeguarding the inviolability of its borders and ensuring the security, rights, and national dignity of its citizens.”

“I have come here to vote for an Armenia where lies and slander are condemned, and an active political stance is valued,” the third President of Armenia added.

He said the outcome of the elections depends on the voters and called on citizens to head to polling stations and vote.

Sargsyan added that he wants to see national unity in Armenia.

847,226 out of 2,505,102 eligible voters had cast their ballots as of 14:00 in the parliamentary elections, representing 33.84% of the electorate, the Central Electoral Commission reported.

The turnout was 14.48% as of 11:00.

Voting began at 08:00 and will continue until 20:00.

A senior official in the Pashinyan administration on Sunday said that the government intends to continue working with Russia to resolve all issues and again reiterated that Armenia’s current EU moves do not contradict its membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

Armen Grigoryan, the Secretary of the Security Council and a senior member of the Civil Contract party, told reporters after casting his ballot in the parliamentary elections that the government will continue to work with all countries where potential new export markets for Armenian goods can be found.

Grigoryan reiterated that there is no need for any referendum regarding a possible EU accession.

“As long as the relations with the two organizations—the EU and the Eurasian Economic Union—are compatible, we will continue this agenda. Membership in both organizations is incompatible; however, the level of relations we have with the EAEU as a member state, and the relations we currently have with the EU, are, we are convinced, compatible,” he said.

Grigoryan said Armenia will continue working with the Russian Federation in order to find solutions to existing problems.

“After the elections, emotions will subside, and in a calm environment it will be possible to discuss and find solutions. You know that the EU is ready to create new opportunities for Armenian goods, and we will work in that direction,” he said.

Secretary Grigoryan expressed confidence that the problems arising for Armenia in an artificial way will be resolved.

Armenia was earlier notified by its union partners—Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan—that they would like to see a referendum in Armenia choosing between staying in the EAEU or withdrawing and moving toward the European Union. The developments come amid growing ties between Armenia and the EU, which Armenia says do not contradict its EAEU membership for now.

In response to that statement, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on June 1 that Armenia will continue to work within the Eurasian Economic Union framework until the point when choosing between the European Union and the EAEU becomes unavoidable. The prime minister noted that there are currently no grounds for holding such a referendum, as Armenia’s European integration process is not yet at a stage where citizens can be presented with a clear choice. “Until the point when Armenia has either officially applied for EU membership or is very close to obtaining candidate status, holding any referendum would be unreasonable,” Pashinyan said.

In light of these developments, Russia has been imposing growing import restrictions on a wide range of Armenian goods in the run-up to the Armenian parliamentary elections held on June 7. This has prompted Armenian exporters to look for new markets, particularly in the EU.

Pashinyan is leading the Civil Contract party’s re-election bid.

PM Nikol Pashinyan and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen discussed during a phone call on June 4 the response to Armenia’s economic challenges and the further development of bilateral cooperation. The European Commission President reaffirmed the European Union’s commitment to supporting the strengthening of Armenia’s economic resilience and development programs. She said the EU is preparing a support package that includes over €50 million in immediate financial assistance, as well as additional measures aimed at expanding export opportunities for Armenian products and facilitating trade. “Today I spoke with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan about Russia’s recent restrictions targeting Armenia. This is nothing short of economic coercion, and it is unacceptable,” President von der Leyen said in the readout published by the European Commission.

President von der Leyen pledged targeted aid for affected sectors and deeper economic and connectivity cooperation with Armenia and announced that a joint EU–Armenia Task Force will be created to oversee the implementation of all these initiatives.

Five individuals have been arrested on suspicion of a vote-buying scheme allegedly involving the “Strong Armenia” bloc, authorities have announced.

The Anti-Corruption Committee said that a joint investigation with the National Security Service revealed that a precinct election commission chairperson affiliated with the “Strong Armenia” bloc abused their role in selecting election commission members and chose members who agreed to a corrupt arrangement, receiving payment for their roles in exchange for ensuring that a specific number of voters would cast their ballots for “Strong Armenia.”

The Armenia–Russia relationship needs revitalization, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, a senior member of the Civil Contract party, told reporters after casting his ballot on Sunday in the parliamentary elections.

He said that the Pashinyan administration hopes that, after the parliamentary elections, it will be possible to discuss the emerging issues with Russian partners in a constructive atmosphere and find mutually beneficial solutions.

Asked about possible foreign meddling in Armenia’s elections, particularly from Russia, the minister said:

“We have seen rather sharp statements from officials of their Security Council, various other officials, members of parliament, as well as representatives of media and expert communities, criticizing the Armenian authorities. We have also seen certain attempts at guidance, as well as economic sanctions, which, whether you want it or not, you somehow associate with the elections, because the issues being raised have also existed, to one degree or another, in previous periods.

I think that relations between Armenia and Russia need some revitalization, and we hope that especially after the elections, we will be able to discuss these relations and the existing problems—which arise from time to time in any country’s relations—with our Russian counterparts in a healthy, constructive atmosphere. We should also find solutions that will be beneficial for both the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation.”

Mirzoyan also stated that he agrees with the Prime Minister’s view that the tension in Armenia–Russia relations is artificial.

“Yes, they are absolutely artificial, because there is no basis for them. In this regard, of course, it is artificial,” he emphasized, referring to the growing Russian import restrictions on Armenian goods amid Yerevan’s EU integration moves.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Sunday appeared to accuse some political forces in Armenia of exploiting what he described as the usual export-import issues within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).  Pashinyan was asked by reporters about Russia’s growing restrictions in recent weeks on the import of Armenian goods. 

The Armenian prime minister, speaking outside a polling station after casting his vote in the parliamentary elections, said that such matters pertaining to phytosanitary standards and re-exports are constantly arising and are discussed regularly between EAEU members, of which Armenia and Russia are both members.

Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister’s Office Arayik Harutyunyan, who served as campaign manager for the Civil Contract party in the run-up to the June 7 elections, said on Sunday that the election process is going smoothly.

“We also note that some partners and some media outlets are creating unnecessary hype around the elections, and we are aware of the intentions behind it. However, it is obvious that the majority of the alerts are not fact-based, and in all cases where there are facts, both we and law enforcement respond to them,” Harutyunyan said at a briefing at the Civil Contract party headquarters.

He also said that, from a legal perspective, several proceedings have already been initiated over violations related to election silence day and campaign restrictions.

A senior Civil Contract party member has called on citizens to participate more actively in the elections by going to polling stations and casting their votes.

Arayik Harutyunyan, Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister’s Office and a member of the Civil Contract board, expressed confidence that democracy would take another step forward following these elections.

“We call on citizens to be more active in participating in the elections in the coming hours, and I am confident that after 8:00 p.m., when the election results are summarized, we will once again note that democracy in Armenia has taken another step forward, and that our institutions have demonstrated they are functioning much better than, for example, five years ago,” Harutyunyan said at a briefing.

President Vahagn Khachaturyan on Sunday cast his ballot in the parliamentary election at polling station 7/46.

“I have voted for a peaceful, developing, strong and stable future for the Republic of Armenia,” President Khachaturyan told reporters afterwards.

Arusyak Julhakyan, a parliamentary candidate for the Civil Contract Party and a member of the National Assembly’s Civil Contract faction, said she does not expect any serious post-election developments, arguing that elections in Armenia are no longer subject to fraud.

Julhakyan made the remarks at a press conference held at the Civil Contract Party’s election headquarters on June 7.

“The logic of post-election developments is understandable when elections are rigged. When elections are not rigged, and the chapter of election fraud in the Republic of Armenia has been closed since 2018, then there can be no post-election developments. Of course, several individuals may decide to take to the streets, but that cannot generate any process because there cannot be a public perception that the elections were falsified,” Julhakyan said.

A total of 18 political forces – including two alliances and 16 political parties – have registered to participate in Armenia’s June 7 parliamentary elections. Voting began at 8:00 a.m. and will continue until 8:00 p.m. A total of 2,005 polling stations have been established across Armenia for the vote. To cover the elections, 71 media outlets have been accredited, while 13 domestic and eight international observer missions are monitoring the electoral process.