Armenia’s parliamentary election has strengthened Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s mandate, with analysts linking the result to his post-Garabagh agenda and pro-Western direction. However, constitutional constraints remain a key obstacle to peace efforts with Azerbaijan.
Speaking to AnewZ, political analyst Eldar Hamzali said the vote was particularly significant as Armenia’s first regular parliamentary election in eight years, following a series of snap elections since 2018.
He said the election also reflected public support for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s post-Garabagh vision, after Yerevan effectively declared the conflict over.
“It was a test for Nikol Pashinyan and for Armenian society as well,” Hamzali said, adding that “at least half of the voters who went to polling stations have voted for this future.”
While some opposition groups have challenged results in individual precincts and filed complaints with the Central Electoral Commission, Arsen Kharatyan, founder of AliQ Media, told AnewZ's Guy Shone on Primetime that major changes remain unlikely.
Kharatyan added that even if a fourth party enters parliament after recounts, the ruling Civil Contract party would lose only a small number of mandates alongside other parties.
He also noted that discussions on constitutional change and referendums extend beyond parliament, arguing there are multiple mechanisms within Armenian society to initiate such processes.
“I’m not even sure that a referendum is part of or should be part of the discussion with regards to the peace agreement. [...] We have far more reaching goals as parties besides the constitutional change.”
The election result has also renewed attention on efforts to finalise a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Kharatyan said the outcome removes uncertainty over political representation in negotiations.
“I don't see any challenge for the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement signing,” he said, adding that Pashinyan has a governing majority and “has all the legal rights to sign the agreement.”
However, Hamzali pointed to constitutional constraints as a key obstacle in the process. He said Azerbaijan has repeatedly called for the removal of references to Armenia’s Declaration of Independence from the constitution’s preamble, arguing it contains territorial claims.
He added that “Armenia’s constitution requires a two-thirds parliamentary majority to initiate a referendum on constitutional amendments,” a threshold the ruling party currently lacks.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov has previously stressed the need to remove territorial claims from Armenia’s constitution.
Analysts say the election gives Pashinyan space to continue balancing closer ties with Europe while maintaining pragmatic relations with Russia.
Hamzali said Armenia remains economically dependent on Russia and cannot rapidly shift toward Europe. “Armenia needs time,” he said, noting that EU integration requires extensive reforms and standards alignment.
He added that Moscow is likely to tolerate Armenia’s current direction as long as core interests are not challenged.
“I think Russia will tolerate” Armenia’s current trajectory, he said, provided Yerevan avoids crossing major Russian red lines.
The future of Armenia’s normalisation process with Türkiye is expected to depend largely on progress between Yerevan and Baku.
“The Armenian-Turkish normalisation is much dependent on Armenia-Azerbaijan normalisation,” Hamzali said, noting that Turkish officials have linked border opening to broader peace progress.
Beyond foreign policy, economic issues are expected to dominate the Armenian government’s agenda following the election.
Hamzali said security concerns remain important but are gradually being overtaken by economic priorities. “The second concern is, of course, the economy,” he said.
With a renewed mandate, Pashinyan’s government is expected to prioritise economic reform while managing complex regional dynamics and constitutional limitations.
U.S. Donald Trump has said he has cancelled planned strikes on Iranian oil and gas ports announced earlier on Thursday. Trump said he made the decisio...
Britain's Defence Minister, John Healey, and Armed Forces Minister, Al Carns, have resigned from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government over a...
Spanish football club Real Madrid has appointed José Mourinho as its new manager. The 63-year-old nicknamed “the special one” returns to the hel...
Pakistan says it has killed 26 militants in strikes on terrorist hideouts along the Afghan border, marking the most significant escalation between the...
Canada’s Privacy Commissioner has found that xAI’s Grok chatbot and its parent company X Corp. violated federal privacy law by launching an AI ima...
Azerbaijan dispatched 17 railway wagons carrying 984 tonnes of diesel fuel to Armenia on Thursday, marking the latest shipment in growing trade between the two countries.
Türkiye welcomed Armenia's parliamentary election result on Monday, urging Yerevan to take "bolder steps" towards regional peace and diplomatic normalisation.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Contract party has won the Armenian elections, picking up nearly half the vote. With a majority in parliament, Pashinyan is set for a third term as Prime Minister. But an opposition politican has said he will challenge the election results.
The results of Armenia’s parliamentary elections will determine the makeup of the National Assembly and shape the country's political direction for the foreseeable future. But in Armenia, the final result is not decided by vote percentages alone. Here's how it works.
Mexico and South Africa meet in Thursday’s World Cup opener in Mexico City, with both teams approaching the match from very different positions but facing their own pressures.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry says 19 citizens have been repatriated following a deadly drone attack on two cargo ships in the Sea of Azov on 5 June.
The Pakistani city of Karachi is struggling under severe heat and humidity as the country enters a prolonged heatwave period. The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has warned of above-normal temperatures across much of the country between 7 and 12 June.
Ukraine's military said it struck a Russian "shadow fleet" tanker in the Black Sea as part of ongoing efforts to disrupt Moscow's energy and logistics networks. The move underscores Kyiv's focus on targeting maritime assets it says are used to bypass sanctions on Russian oil exports.
U.S. forces say they have completed strikes on Iranian military sites near the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with missile attacks on an American base in Jordan, marking a sharp escalation in tensions between the two sides.
Russia has once again offered warm words to Tbilisi, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova praising Georgia's efforts to safeguard its sovereignty and saying Moscow is ready to deepen ties.
Azerbaijan dispatched 17 railway wagons carrying 984 tonnes of diesel fuel to Armenia on Thursday, marking the latest shipment in growing trade between the two countries.
The U.S. is deepening engagement with Central Asia on critical minerals as global competition for strategic resources intensifies. The issue dominated talks in Astana between Washington and the five Central Asian states.
Israel's cabinet is expected to approve a plan on Thursday (11 June) to allocate around one billion shekels ($338 million) for settlement development in the West Bank, according to reports and anti-settlement campaigners.
India is expected to receive below-average rainfall over the next two weeks, particularly across central and northern regions, as weather systems known as western disturbances slow the advance of the annual monsoon, senior weather officials said.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment