Armenia's 2026 Legislative Election - At the Dawn of a New Geopolitical Era

According to Mr. Grigoryan, the 2026 Armenian parliamentary election took place in a transformed geopolitical environment following Azerbaijan’s 2023 takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh, the displacement of more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians, and progress toward a draft peace treaty in 2025.The expert claims that the campaign focused on national security, the peace process with Azerbaijan, economic performance, corruption, governance, and Armenia’s geopolitical orientation. The government also highlighted alleged coup attempts and arrested several prominent figures.Three parties entered parliament. The outcome was widely seen as a renewed mandate for Prime Minister Pashinyan, who reaffirmed Armenia’s commitment to closer EU ties while continuing to balance relations with Russia-led institutions.If you want to learn more about how support for different political forces was distributed across the country, the demographic makeup of the electorate, and the issues that mattered most to Armenian voters during the campaign, tune in to the latest episode of Votes & Seats!Participants:Armen GrigoryanCo-founder & President, Center for Policy StudiesBálint L. TóthResearcher, MCC Center for Political ScienceWith the help of guest experts and politicians, in the podcast series of MCC’s Centre for Political Science we endeavor to analyze which actors are the real winners of the parliamentary and municipal elections taking place this year in different European countries and what exactly can be considered a real victory after the ballot counts.