The party of Armenia’s prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, has won 53.9% of the vote in snap parliamentary polls called in an effort to defuse a political crisis after a war with Azerbaijan, official results show.
An alliance led by his rival, ex-leader Robert Kocharyan, came second with 21%, according to the results based on ballots from 100%t of precincts counted.
A winning party or bloc needs to obtain at least 50% of seats plus one and can be assigned additional seats in order to form a government.
Pashinyan hours earlier claimed victory based on early results, but Kocharyan’s grouping swiftly contested the vote and alleged election fraud.
A record four electoral blocs and 21 parties ran for election on Sunday.
The vote has been seen as a two-horse race, with both Pashinyan, 46, and Kocharyan, 66, drawing massive crowds in the run-up to the polls.
“The people of Armenia gave our Civil Contract party a mandate to lead the country and personally me to lead the country as prime minister,” Pashinyan announced early on Monday.
“We already know that we won a convincing victory in the elections and we will have a convincing majority in parliament,” he added, urging supporters to turn up at Yerevan’s main square Monday evening.
