He won — with a caveat. Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party took 49.8% of the vote, enough to secure a parliamentary majority and form a government without coalition partners, but short of the supermajority needed to call a referendum on constitutional amendments.

President Donald Trump had endorsed Pashinyan in Sunday's ballot amid allegations of interference by Moscow, which has compared its EU ambitions to the scenario that triggered Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Armenia’s pivotal 2026 parliamentary election has triggered mixed reactions from Russia and the European Union. While Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party claimed victory and pledged closer ties with the EU alongside continued engagement with Russia-led institutions,

Ahead of a national election on Sunday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has been talking about joining the E.U. and boasting of an endorsement from President Donald Trump.

The data, taken ​from about 5% of Armenia's polling stations, showed the pro-Russian Strong Armenia alliance in second ​place, with about 21% of votes. The Armenia ⁠Alliance, led ⁠by former President ⁠Robert ​Kocharyan, was in third place with roughly 8%.

Armenians will decide their future on Sunday against the backdrop of a Russia-West clash, as both the EU and the US support PM Pashinyan’s cautious pro-Western drive, while Russia embarked on an onslaught of economic and political pressures on Yerevan to keep the former Soviet state in its orbit.

By Lucy Papachristou YEREVAN, June 5 (Reuters) - Armenia holds a parliamentary election on Sunday that pits the governing Civil Contract party, which is pursuing closer ties with the West, against an array of opposition parties,