‘It’s time to move forward’: Armenians vote in election closely watched by Russia and EU

Armenians are going to the polls in an election that could cement the country’s shift towards Europe and away from its traditional alliance with Russia. Prime minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party enters the vote as the favourite, ahead of three opposition candidates who advocate for closer ties with Moscow. Pashinyan’s main challenger, Samvel Karapetyan, a Russian-Armenian billionaire who built much of his fortune in Russia, has been forced to campaign from house arrest at his mansion outside Yerevan. Much is at stake for the South Caucasus nation of 3 million people, with Moscow, Brussels and Washington all closely watching the vote. A Karapetyan victory could set Armenia on a trajectory similar to neighbouring Georgia, where a billionaire with Russian-made wealth has spent years dismantling pro-western reforms and pulling the country back towards Moscow. A strong majority for Pashinyan would give him a mandate to pursue his signature and politically sensitive goal: a peace agreement with Armenia’s longtime enemy Azerbaijan and the normalisation of relations with Turkey. Nikol Pashinyan after casting his ballot in Yerevan. Photograph: Karen Minasyan/AFP/Getty Images A former journalist who swept to power during the 2018 Velvet Revolution, Pashinyan has campaigned on a platform of peace, arguing that ending Armenia’s decades-long confrontation with its neighbours would unlock economic opportunities, improve security and reduce its dependence on Russia. …