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17 parties and two electoral blocs are competing for seats in parliament, in elections on Sunday, 7 June.They are seeking the support of around 2.5 million eligible voters across the country. This page brings together our coverage, analysis, interviews and updates on the campaign. At the bottom of this blog, all the issues of the Armenian Election Monitor 2026 can be found. ======== CEC Rejects  call to invalidate registration of Samvel Karapetyan's "'Strong Armenia" bloc. =============================== ==================================== At a meeting on Friday evening, (5 June), Armenia's Central Electoral Commission rejected the Republic Party's application to invalidate the registration of the Strong Armenia party bloc's electoral list, led by Samvel Karapetian. "Aram Sargsyan's appeal to deregister Samvel Karapetyan's 'Strong Armenia' bloc is rejected. The decision comes into force upon publication at the meeting," a CEC statement reads. The appeal was rejected unanimously by all seven commission members. Central Election Commission Chairman Vahagn Hovakimyan stated that the arguments and allegations presented lacked sufficient substantiation and were purely speculative. ============================================= Simonyan meets CIS Parliamentary Assembly election observation mission =========================== On June 5, Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan received the delegation of the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly observation mission, led by Deputy Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zhakip Asanov. Astatement released by the Armenian National Assembly states that Alen Simonyan welcomed the representatives of the observation mission, wishing them successful observation activities in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The two sides also discussed other issues related to the pre-election campaign and electoral processes. ==================================Who is who in Armenia's Parliamentary Elections - a list prepared by civilnet (available here https://civilnet.am/en/news/1011838) ======= to read the blog click the image above

This week, commonspace.eu spoke to Nigel Ellway about his work on landmines, explosive weapons and victim assistance, and his mission to make conflict-affected communities safer and more humane places to live.  Nigel Ellway is a former international journalist and Whitehall media adviser who has dedicated more than a decade to raise political awareness of landmines, explosive weapons and victim assistance. In 2011, he created an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Landmines, and in 2018 founded the REVIVE Campaign, a humanitarian NGO focused on research and advocacy. We spoke to Mr. Ellway about the long-term impact of landmines and explosive weapons, why victim assistance is too often politically neglected, and why mine action should be measured not only by land cleared or devices removed, but by lives rebuilt, livelihoods restored and communities made safe again. “When I founded REVIVE, we adopted the phrase: “Reduce explosive violence, increase victim empowerment.” That is actually where the organisation’s name comes from. But over time, I became increasingly realistic about what NGOs can and cannot achieve. Conflict will always exist, and human beings are endlessly inventive in the ways they wage war. Historically, landmines were seen as effective weapons of deterrence because they were cheap to deploy but expensive to remove. Today, however, warfare is evolving rapidly. Drone warfare is transforming the battlefield.” (To read the full interview, click on the image above.)

The campaign for the Armenian parliamentary elections began on Friday (8 May), with 17 parties and two electoral blocs in the running. All are seeking to enter parliament and win the support of around 2.5 million eligible voters across Armenia. With the campaign underway, each party is already mobilising public opinion against the other. Parties are divided on different themes: peace vs reconsideration of the current peace process, European vs Russian trajectories, and populist vs democratic tendencies, among other political cleavages shaping the campaign. Each party is targeting different segments of the Armenian electorate and hoping that its strategy will secure seats in parliament. The ruling Civil Contract Party will run independently and once again be led by the current Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan. The party faces several challengers, including former President Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance party, the Strong Armenia alliance associated with businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, and Gagik Tsarukyan’s Prosperous Armenia Party. Other parties include the former Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan’s Wings of Unity party, the Armenian National Congress, which is expected to participate under the leadership of Levon Zurabyan, and Edmon Marukyan’s Bright Armenia Party. In addition, former Yerevan mayor Hayk Marutyan is also entering the elections with his New Force party, and Aram Sargsyan, leader of the Republic Party and brother of former Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan, who was killed during the 1999 Armenian parliament shooting, confirmed that his party will also run independently. Lastly, among others, the newly formed movement called Against Everyone is also hoping to garner support from undecided voters. (To read the full briefing, click on the image above.)