(7 Jun 2026)
FOR CLEAN VERSION SEE STORY NUMBER: 4663936
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Yerevan, Armenia – 7 June 2026
1. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan voting
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Nikol Pashinyan, Armenian Prime Minister: ++PARTLY OVERLAID BY SHOTS 3-10++
“Armenian future will be strategy of strengthening independence, statehood, democracy, rule of law, and we will continue the democratic reform path, of course with the support of our European partners. We will reform Armenia, trying to make it compliant with the European Union’s standards.”
3. Woman and her daughter walking to voting booth
4. Close of feet behind voting booth
5. Girl looking from behind voting booth
6. Woman and her daughter casting ballot
7. Men behind voting booth
8. Woman and her daughter walking to cast ballot
9. Close of voter casting ballot
10. Close of ballot box
11. Leader of opposition party Strong Armenia Samvel Karapetyan arriving at polling station
12. Karapetyan casting ballot
13. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Samvel Karapetyan, leader of Strong Armenia:
“This morning arrests continued, pressure continued but I think it won’t have impact on the Armenian people’s minds. Armenian people will make the right choice today and Armenia will finally have the legitimate government.”
14. People walking into polling station
15. People voting in voting booth
16. Man walking to cast ballot
17. Close of voter casting ballot
STORYLINE:
Armenians are voting Sunday in parliamentary elections as the incumbent government, under mounting Russian pressure, seeks to loosen ties with Moscow and deepen cooperation with the West.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his ruling Civil Contract party are looking for a strong mandate for a new geopolitical course. The opposition they face includes some parties that are vocally pro-Russian.
Casting his vote on Sunday, Pashinyan said that Armenia would continue strengthening its independence, statehood, democracy and rule of law.
He also stressed that there were no tensions between Armenia and Moscow, saying, “our relations with Russia are institutional and based on mutual respect,” the Armenpress news agency reported.
Russian officials have hit Armenian exports with a barrage of restrictions in recent weeks, while high-ranking officials, including President Vladimir Putin, have made thinly veiled threats comparing Armenia’s path to that already taken by Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Armenian investigators said they issued six arrest warrants for members of the opposition Strong Armenia party the day before the election, accusing them of buying votes. The nation’s Central Election Committee confirmed Saturday that the party could run after a member of another opposition party, Republic, appealed for Strong Armenia to be barred over corruption allegations.
Commenting on the arrests Sunday, the head of the Strong Armenia party, Russian Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan, said that they “would not change the minds of Armenian voters.”
Karapetyan is under house arrest for allegedly advocating for the government’s overthrow, a charge that the billionaire has rejected as politically motivated. He was escorted to a polling station where he spoke briefly to the media before returning home.
“The Armenian people will make the right choice and Armenia will finally have a legitimate government,” he said.
AP video by Kostya Manenkov
===========================================================
Find out more about AP Archive:
Twitter:
Facebook:
Instagram:
You can license this story through AP Archive:
source