REUTERS, Yerevan

Armenians headed to the polls yesterday in a parliamentary election seen as a test of the government’s efforts to forge a peace deal after a crushing military defeat by Azerbaijan three years ago.

Polls show Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s ruling Civil Contract party leading, backed by up to 32 percent of voters, with the pro-Russian Strong Armenia party trailing in second place with up to 11 percent.

Since coming to power in 2018 Pashinyan has moved Armenia closer to the West and away from traditional patron Russia, which has provoked Moscow’s ire in the lead-up to the vote.

GDP per capita has doubled under Pashinyan, a journalist and opposition activist turned politician. “I really like how Armenia has been growing right before my eyes,” 39-year-old voter Karine Darbinyan said at a rally for Pashinyan in Yerevan’s central square on Friday.

Pashinyan has faced a wave of criticism from the opposition and some sections of the public, who have accused him of capitulating to Azerbaijan, particularly since the 2023 war.

He has countered by placing his peace effort centre stage in his campaign, above all the agreement he signed at the White House last August with Azerbaijan after fighting between the two had raged on and off since the late 1980s.

Pashinyan said his government would provide a “balanced foreign policy” if re-elected.