In Armenia, a country with a population of approximately 3 million, voting has concluded in the parliamentary elections where more than 2.5 million registered voters were called to the polls. Following the closure of the polls as of 20:00 local time, the process moved to vote counting.
According to data from the Central Electoral Commission of Armenia, 58.97% of voters went to the polls, with 1,476,597 voters casting their ballots. Experts note that activity in border regions may have driven the turnout rates up in the final hours.
The Central Electoral Commission, which announced that the voting process was completed without any issues across 2,005 polling stations established throughout Armenia (9 of which were in prisons), stated that the first unofficial results would begin arriving starting from midnight.
"Minor Tensions Reported"
According to data from Armenia's official news agency Armenpress and local media outlet Azatutyun (Radio Liberty Armenia), voter turnout remained remarkably high throughout the day, particularly in Yerevan and strategic regions along the border (Tavush and Syunik). Various sources in Armenia report that minor tensions occurred in some electoral districts between opposition blocs and ballot-box observers from the ruling Civil Contract Party due to allegations of irregularities; however, no incident large enough to disrupt the voting process was reported.
On the other hand, following reports of power outages at some polling stations after voting ended, Romanos Petrosyan, the Interim Head of the Electricity Networks of Armenia, stated that power had been restored to all affected locations and that there is currently uninterrupted electricity at all polling stations nationwide.
The official emphasized that voting has concluded across the country and all ballots have been placed in sealed ballot boxes. According to Petrosyan, approximately 2,000 employees are on standby and will intervene in any disruptions that may occur during the vote-counting process.
The company also noted that polling stations are equipped with flashlights and backup power sources, and that representatives of rival political parties are present alongside the sealed ballot boxes while the counting continues.
Additionally, the Investigation Committee announced that nine individuals were arrested today and 59 investigations were launched on charges of electoral violations.
"The Future of the Caucasus is in this Ballot Box"
The eyes of the international press were also on Yerevan. International agencies such as Reuters and the Associated Press (AP) announced the closing of the polls, emphasizing that "the election voting on the power struggle between Russia and the West in the South Caucasus has concluded." English-language sources point out that economic restriction measures coming from Moscow ahead of the election and border demarcation debates played a decisive role in voter behavior. International observers (OSCE) monitoring the region and the Armenian elections are closely following the transparent counting process of the votes now that the polls have closed.
Regional Balances Could Shift
International experts state that the outcome of the ballot box holds the power to radically change not only Armenia's domestic politics but also the ongoing peace talks with Azerbaijan, the normalization process with Turkey, and the entire alliance map of the South Caucasus. In the parliamentary elections where 18 political forces and alliances are competing, all eyes are now locked on the first official votes to be issued by the electoral boards.
