Acting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s bloc 'My Step' has received 70.43% of the vote during the Armenian parliamentary elections, the Central Election Commission said after counting ballots from all 2010 polling stations.
The Prosperous Armenia party, led by Gagik Tsarukyan and the Armenian Renaissance party, led by Edmon Marukyan, have also entered the parliament, scoring 8.27% and 6.37% of the vote respectively.
Former Armenian leading party, the Republican Party of Armenia led by Serzh Sargsyan, failed to surpass the 5% mark, scoring just 4.7% of the vote. The Dashnakthutyun faction received 3.89% of votes, TASS reported.
Other parties involved in the parliamentary election received less than 2% of the vote. 1.82% or 22,862 people scored their votes for Sasna Tsrer, 0.99% or 12,389 for Orinats Yerkir, 2% or 25,174 for We bloc, 0.51% or 6,456 for Christian People Revival, 0.33% or 4,122 for National Progress and 0.68% or 8,530 for the Citizen’s Decision.
According to the Central Electoral Commission, the total number of people eligible to vote is 2,92,481 of which 1,260,840 or 48.63% have voted in the elections.
A party needs to score at least 5% of the vote, while a bloc is required to have at least 7% to win seats in the national legislature.
According to official data, more than 2.5 mln citizens across the country are eligible to vote. '
The director of the Armenian branch of the CIS Institute, Alexander Markarov, speaking with Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that Pasninyan's victory was predicted by all experts and common civilians. “The main issue of these elections was the number of Pashinyan’s supporters in the parliament, as well as the number of parliamentary parties - 3 or 4. The polls results were more or less correct: in addition to 'My Step', the parliament will include Prosperous Armenia and Marukian's party, former part of the Yelk block, which probably is turning into a regime of constructive opposition to the Pashinyan government," he said.
"With such legitimacy, such social and political capital, the party will strive to form its own government, so we look forward to the program’s presentation. Pashinyan's main issue for the next few months is to maintain a high support rating among the population. The rating of 70-80% is Pashinyan’s personal rating. 'My Step' has a lower rating, but maintaining this rating provides an opportunity for serious possible changes in politics and the economy," Alexander Markarov noted.
A low turnout, according to the political scientist, will be used by both the authorities and the opposition in the subsequent political struggle. "For the authorities, it will be a confirmation that the administrative resource was used during the previous elections to increase turnout, while for the opposition it will be confirmation that the current government does not have the support it expected in the framework of revolutionary mobilization," he explained.
As for the Republican Party, which has not entered the parliament, its future is still uncertain. "The RPA will take on the role of the extra-parliamentary opposition, but the question is whether they will succeed in reformatting the party's policy. It is clear that part of the elite in the RPA will continue to seek for their own selves in politics, but being an extra-parliamentary political force is more difficult than being the opposition in the parliament. In general, a political situation as a result of the election is comfortable for Pashinyan: it will be difficult for the Renaissance party to be in tough opposition to him, because they were in one bloc, and Prosperous Armenia, most likely, will be no power or opposition,but some third component, although it is quite complicated," Alexander Markarov concluded.
