Voting ends in Armenia's parliamentary elections

All 2,005 polling stations in Armenia closed at 8 pm, and vote counting has begun. These are the first regular, rather than snap, parliamentary elections in nine years.

According to the Central Electoral Commission, by 5 pm 1,224,957 people, or 48.92% of the 2,503,976 eligible voters, had cast their ballots. Final turnout figures are expected later in the evening.

Eighteen political forces competed for seats in the National Assembly. The main question is the result of Nikol Pashinyan's ruling Civil Contract and the opposition Strong Armenia alliance led by Narek Karapetyan.

The elections were followed by international observers from the OSCE/ODIHR, PACE, the European Parliament and the CIS. The Interior Ministry reported dozens of complaints about possible violations.