Unsurprising Outcome

To no one’s astonishment, Nikol Pashinyan’s “My Step” alliance won big in the Republic of Armenia’s (RoA) first ever snap elections held on December 9, 2018. And, as cautiously hoped, the election was largely clean and free of fraud. Even the losing candidates/groups have not complained. This is probably the best news from the election!

Garnering just over 70 percent of the votes cast, Pashinyan has gotten the formal electoral mandate he needs to govern and implement the policies he deems best for the country. Only two other parties – Prosperous Armenia (at just over eight percent) and Bright Armenia (at a little over six percent and a breakaway from Pashinyan’s alliance) – managed to get enough votes to get past the minimum thresholds (five percent for parties and seven percent for alliances) to get seated in the National Assembly. That leaves eight parties and alliances which participated in this election out.