2026 Armenian parliamentary election

Since the previous election and after the Artsakh War, with the violent expulsion of all ethnic Armenians from their homeland in Nagorno-Karabakh, the government has made moves towards Azerbaijan on potential recognition of the loss of Artsakh.^[6][3] Following protests, the government criticized such actions.^[7] Parliamentary Speaker Simonyan also criticized protesters and praised Azerbaijan.^[8] In 2025, various leaders of the Armenian Apostolic Church were arrested for an alleged coup with some sentenced to jail. Archbishop Mikael Ajapahyan was arrested in October, 2025^[9] and handed a two-year sentence in November.^[10] In February, 2026, he was moved to house arrest.^[11] Armenian-Cypriot-Russian businessman Samvel Karapetyan was arrested in 2025 and placed under house arrest, which was extended in April 2026 by three months (running through the election).^[12] His assets of the electricity networks of Armenia were also seized following his support of the national church.^[13]

Members of the unicameral National Assembly are elected through a proportional representation system using party lists.

Candidates may participate in the elections only by being included in the nationwide list of a political party or an alliance of parties.^[14] For the elections, Armenia will be divided into 13 electoral districts.^[15] A candidate for deputy must be at least 25 years old, have held only Armenian citizenship during the previous four years, have permanently resided in Armenia, possess voting rights, and be proficient in the Armenian language. According to the Constitution of Armenia, the National Assembly is elected for a five-year term and must consist of at least 101 deputies. The number of seats may be increased when the allocation of additional mandates is required.^[16]

Seats are allocated using the D'Hondt method, proportionally among all political forces that surpass the electoral threshold (4% for parties and 8–10% for alliances of parties). If a party receives a majority of votes but wins less than 54% of the mandates, it will be allocated additional mandates to ensure 54% of the total seats. If one party wins more than two-thirds of the mandates, additional mandates will be granted to opposition parties that passed the threshold, reducing the winning party’s share to two-thirds. If a government is not formed within six days after the publication of the preliminary results, a second round must be held on the 28th day between the two parties receiving the most votes. The party winning the second round will receive the additional mandates necessary to secure a 54% majority, while preserving all mandates allocated in the first round.^[17] Seats are allocated to parties using their national share of the vote. Four seats are reserved for national minorities (Assyrians, Kurds, Russians and Yazidis), with parties having separate lists for the four groups.^[18] A gender quota requires any top section of a party list to include at least 33% candidates of each gender.^[19]

If a party receives a majority of the vote but wins less than 54% of the seats, they will be awarded additional seats to give them 54% of the total. If one party wins over two-thirds of the seats, the losing parties which made it over the threshold will be given extra seats reducing the share of seats of the winning party to two-thirds. If a government is not formed within six days of the preliminary results being released, a run-off round between the top two parties must be held on the 28th day. The party that wins the run-off will be given the additional seats required for a 54% majority, with all seats allocated in the first round preserved.^[18]

The deadline to register lists was 23 April, 2026 at 18:00.^[20]

19 political forces, well-known in political circles and newly emerged, have submitted applications to the Electoral Commission.^[21] The ruling Civil Contract Party,^[22] the largest opposition force in parliament, the Armenia Alliance,^[23][24] and Samvel Karapetyan's Strong Armenia^[25] have submitted candidacy applications for the elections. The third force in parliament, the Republican Party, has decided not to participate in the elections.^[26] Those who have indicated running are:^[27]

Former President Serzh Sargsyan said that the Republican Party would not partake in the election: "Our voters’ voices will not be lost but will join those of other opposition voters."^[26] Samvel Karapetyan renounced his Cypriot and Russian passports to run for office.^[28] Armenian National Congress said it would have its own list.^[21] Gagik Tsarukyan was chosen to lead Prosperous Armenia.^[24]

Hayastan faction MP and Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun)'s Ishkhan Saghatelyan called for the opposition groups to have a joint rally in response to escalating repression.^[29] Arman Tatoyan, head of the Wings of Unity and Avetik Chalabyan, coordinator of the “HayaQve” National Civil Association, signed a memorandum of cooperation to unify their agenda.^[30] Edmon Marukyan's Bright Armenia said they would be running in the election.^[31]

Thousands attended the Strong Armenia campaign in Yerevan on April 11.^[25]

Civil Contract officially named Pashinyan as its prime ministerial candidate.^[32] Pashinyan commented on the opposition in saying that Robert Kocharyan's Armenia Alliance, Karapetyan's Strong Armenia and Gagik Tsarukyan Prosperous Armenia should not enter parliament to end the so-called "formers vs. currents" confrontation.^[23][33]

The government arrested 12 detainees, who faced restrictions, in an alleged corruption probe in 2026.^[34] Members of the Strong Armenia party Gohar Ghumashyan and Verzhine Stepanyan, were placed under administrative supervision. They are suspected of vote buying following the release of a transcript of a telephone conversation with a citizen.^[35][36] The former's lawyer said she was not related to the charges against her.^[37] Narek Karapetyan condemned the arrests in saying: "Those who imprison women and fabricate cases against individuals will be replaced in Armenia by a leader who encourages and supports large families."^[38]

An 18-year-old was also arrested for attempting to hit Pashinyan during a Holy Mass in Yerevan's Saint Anna Church. It was reported that he had health problems.^[39] He was sent to Nairi hospital.^[40] In another confrontation, Pashinyan screamed at a Karabakh War veteran "Why weren't you killed off?"^[41] The man was arrested by police and is now on hunger strike.^[42]

The Armenian legislature then passed a bill to ban personal names in electoral blocs.^[43] Hayk Mamijanyan of the Pativ Unem faction, called the actions "inherently illegal,"^[44] as did Gegham Manukyan of the Hayastan faction in regards to the Electoral Code prior to the election^[24] The Armenian Church condemned the government's plan as "unlawful" and a threat to national unity.^[45]

Observers view the 2026 election as geopolitically important for the future of Armenia and the region, amid the 2026 Iran war and the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war. BRICS members Russia and Iran have long viewed the actions of the Pashinyan government as hostile to their security interests in the Caucasus, especially Pashinyan's support for the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP).^[46] The Iranian–Russian Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership signed in January 2025 commits both Iran and Russia to preventing the "interference" and "destabilizing presence" of external actors in the region.^[47] In May 2026, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Pashinyan's plans to have Armenia join the European Union (EU) required "special consideration."^[48] Drawing parallels between Armenia and Ukraine, he noted that "everything that is happening in respect of Ukraine" began with the country attempting to join the EU.^[48] The Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael described the election, quoting an Armenian expert, as "the most geopoliticised elections" Armenia had ever had.^[49]

Conversely, the Trump administration, the EU, Azerbaijan, and Turkey have been supportive of Pashinyan. In February, US Vice President JD Vance endorsed Pashinyan for reelection in Yerevan.^[50] In May, one week before the election, Pashinyan was also endorsed by US President Donald Trump,^[51] and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.^[41][52] Earlier, Pashinyan endorsed Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.^[53] In April, Azerbaijan's Presidential Special Representative Elchin Amirbekov said that the election, along with Armenia's possible adoption of a new constitution, will "play an important role in signing a [final] peace agreement."^[54]

Reuters reported on 29 May, citing interviews with five anonymous Western intelligence officials and "documents" seen by the media outlet, that Russia was intensifying covert efforts to undermine Pashinyan's re-election in order to avoid an Armenian pivot toward the West. These would include disinformation campaigns supporting pro-Russian candidates and a scheme to transport tens of thousands of Russian Armenians to swing the vote. Reuters reported Karapetyan as being the Russian government's preferred candidate according to three of these intelligence officials.^[55] According to Bot Blocker, a collective of anonymous Russian dissident tech analysts cited by The Daily Telegraph, Armenia was facing the second-largest state-sponsored disinformation campaign in modern European history, only surpassed by Russia's failed anti-Western campaign at the 2025 Moldovan parliamentary election.^[56]

In October 2025, the Russian government established a department known as the Directorate for Strategic Cooperation and Partnership, which would have been overseeing influence operations in Armenia according to four of Reuters' sources. Three of the sources stated Russian authorities had calculated a cost of about 50 million dollars to transport 100,000 voters from Russia; the Armenian diaspora is a large one, that in Russia having been estimated at up to over two million people, Armenia's population then being of 3 million. Nevertheless, Armenian citizens were not allowed to vote from abroad at the time. According to those three of Reuters' sources, the Russian government had issued by mid-May quotas of Armenians each Russian federal subject (province) should send, having demanded administrators report back on preparations. At the time of the publication of its report, Reuters stated it was unable to verify if such transporting plan was underway.^[55]

Reuters also reported on Russian officials having stepped up existing disinformation campaigns to discredit Pashinyan and his government, citing the intelligence officials. One European official stated the campaigns involved the Kremlin-affiliated bot network Storm-1516, which had participated in interference efforts in recent American elections. Three of the officials stated the Russian government had enlisted Russian political consultancies and ⁠think tanks, including the Social ​Design Agency (SDA), sanctioned in the EU and the United Kingdom for spreading disinformation to undermine support for Ukraine. Reuters accessed five documents in Russian formulated by the SDA according to the sources, something Reuters could not verify. This included one suggesting the creation of a media outlet called Yerevan1 for Russian Armenians to promote a "negative attitude" against Pashinyan and argue that Armenia would be only able to prosper in a close alliance with Russia and under its "protection", the document arguing that the diaspora could play a decisive role in the election if their turnout was high.^[55]

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) also reported on 27 May on Storm-1516's activities in Armenia, as well as on the long-running disinformation "Operation Overload", monitored by the ISD since 2024. The Russian Foundation to Battle Injustice (R-FBI), founded by Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, would have also been aiding disinformation efforts in the country, which the ISD described as being aimed at election interference in detriment of Pashinyan and in support of pro-Russian candidates.^[57] According to Bot Blocker, on the eve of the election, the pro-Russian bot network Matryoshka conducted a large-scale disinformation campaign against Armenia and Pashinyan, having spread 343 fake videos against Armenia's political leadership which included false reports on a purported serious illness affecting Pashinyan, Armenian preparations for war with Russia or intentions to replace the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri with a Turkish one.^[58] Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti stated on 28 May that Russia was Armenia's only chance at preserving its statehood and that, should Armenia turn away from Russia, it would become a province of "a new Turkish empire".^[59]

Opinion polling conducted by EMPIRICA ahead of the 2026 Armenian parliamentary elections indicated a highly competitive political landscape between businessman Samvel Karapetyan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Nationwide surveys showed near parity between the two figures, with results ranging from 35% support for Karapetyan and 34% for Pashinyan in head-to-head scenarios.^[62][63]

In Yerevan, Karapetyan held a more pronounced lead, receiving 49% support compared to Pashinyan’s 24%.^[64] The polling also reflected broader public sentiment, including high levels of dissatisfaction with the incumbent government, with 75% of respondents in Yerevan and 61% nationwide expressing disapproval of Pashinyan’s performance, as well as growing support for opposition forces.^[64]