Pashinyan: Opposition's election results were due to vote buying

The results achieved by opposition parties in Armenia's parliamentary elections on June 7 were the result of widespread vote buying, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, as cited by Report.

According to Armenian media, Pashinyan made the remarks while speaking to journalists.

"As for the opposition parties, without vote buying, none of them would have crossed the threshold and entered parliament," he told Armenian journalists.

The prime minister also placed responsibility on the judicial system for failing to prevent such practices.

"What happened is also the responsibility of the judicial system, because those who distributed bribes during previous elections are not only not in prison, but continued their activities during this electoral process," Pashinyan noted.

He added that he intends to demand answers from the judiciary regarding its ineffective efforts to combat vote buying during the elections.

Armenia held parliamentary elections on June 7. According to the final results, with 100% of ballots counted, Pashinyan's Civil Contract party received 49.83% of the vote.

The Strong Armenia party, associated with Russian businessman Samvel Karapetyan, came second with 23.28% of the vote. The Armenia Alliance, led by former President Robert Kocharyan, secured 9.93%. Prosperous Armenia, headed by businessman Gagik Tsarukyan, received 3.996% and failed to clear the 4% threshold required to enter parliament.

Pashinyan has described these three opposition forces as a "three-headed party of war."

In the new parliament, Civil Contract won a majority, allowing it to form a government on its own. However, the party fell short of securing a two-thirds constitutional majority.