Armenia Voting Ends: Turnout Rate at 48.92%

Voter turnout in Armenia's parliamentary elections reached 48.92% as polls closed across the country.

The election, which began at 8:00 AM local time and concluded at 8:00 PM, saw citizens cast their votes to determine the composition of the parliament for the next five years. The country, with a population of approximately 3 million, had 2,500 polling stations set up nationwide.

Several political entities competed, including Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Contract Party, businessman Samvel Karapetyan's "For Armenia" bloc, and former President Robert Kocharyan's "Armenia Alliance" bloc. A total of 18 different candidate lists vied for seats in the parliament, which has a minimum of 101 seats.

This election marked the first ordinary parliamentary vote in Armenia since 2017, following snap elections held in 2018 and 2021. The electoral system uses a closed-list proportional representation, where voters choose from fixed candidate lists. A 4% threshold is in place for individual parties, while alliances face a higher 10% threshold, encouraging parties to run independently.

Armenian electoral law allows for additional seats to be granted to the leading party to ensure a stable government, potentially raising its parliamentary share to 52% even if its initial proportion is lower. According to the Central Election Commission, 2,485,232 registered voters participated.