Armenia’s constitutional court has turned down a bid by the country’s pro-Russian opposition to nullify the results of a June parliamentary election, according to the state news agency Armenpress.
The court’s ruling on Saturday upheld the election outcome, dismissing a challenge brought by the Strong Armenia opposition bloc. That bloc captured 23.3% of the vote and had alleged that the election was marred by irregularities.
The governing Civil Contract party, led by pro-Western Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, claimed nearly 50% of the vote, securing its continued hold on power.
Prior to the election, opposition groups raised concerns about a wave of arrests that they said targeted their parliamentary candidates and supporters.
A team of international election observers acknowledged the allegations of vote-buying and other potential violations, but noted that voting proceeded without major incident at the vast majority of polling locations.
