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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan casting his vote
Photo: NAREK ALEKSANYAN / EPA
Not all ballot papers have been evaluated yet.
But the figures available so far indicate a clear result.
According to projections, the party of the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is in the lead in the early parliamentary elections.
After counting 30 percent of the polling stations, Pashinyan's party was 58.5 percent of the vote on Monday night, well ahead of the alliance of ex-President Robert Kocharyan with 18.5 percent of the vote.
Pashinyan came to power in a peaceful revolution in 2018 with a promise to overthrow corrupt elites in the small former Soviet republic in the Caucasus.
The military defeat against Azerbaijan had massively damaged his reputation.
After violent protests, Pashinyan called early elections in the autumn.
Kocharyan accuses Pashinyan of incompetence and recommended himself as an experienced statesman with reference to his term in office from 1998 to 2008.
He is considered a friend of Russia's President Vladimir Putin.
The ballot in Armenia was influenced by the recent military conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
After six weeks of fighting, Armenia had to admit defeat last August.
During the election campaign, Pashinyan's offer was a surprise
The number of deaths was given by both sides as more than 6,500.
Armenia has had to give up large areas that have been under its control since a previous conflict in the 1990s.
Shortly before the elections, Azerbaijan handed over 15 prisoners of war to the neighboring country.
In return, Armenia handed representatives from Azerbaijan a map showing where Armenian soldiers had laid mines in a previously occupied town.
It is unclear how many prisoners are currently still in the hands of Azerbaijan.
During the election campaign, Pashinyan had surprised with an unusual proposal.
He offered to exchange one of his sons for the remaining prisoners of war.
jok / AFP