Armenia's ruling party releases results of internal vote

Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party has released preliminary results of an internal vote to finalize its electoral list for the 2026 parliamentary elections, with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan topping the list.

The party said on Monday it had completed the first round of vote counting to approve its candidate slate. Pashinyan received 894 votes, followed by Defense Minister Suren Papikyan with 780 and Economy Minister Gevorg Papoyan with 765.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan ranked fourth with 743 votes, while other senior figures, including National Assembly Speker Alen Simonyan and Deputy Speaker Ruben Rubinyan, also placed in the top 10.

No women were included among the first 10 candidates on the preliminary list.

Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan ranked 13th with 554 votes, while other female party members, including Arusyak Julhakyan, Hasmik Hakobyan, Lilit Makunts, Srbuhi Galyan and Nazeli Baghdasaryan, were placed further down the list.