Ex-president Kocharyan votes in Armenia election

Armenians are voting Sunday in a national election after months of tensions over last year's defeat in fighting against Azerbaijan over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The snap parliamentary election was called by Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in a bid to resolve public anger over the peace deal he signed in November that triggered months of protests demanding his resignation.

He stepped down from the premiership as required by law to allow the election to take place but remains the country's leader.

In Sunday’s election, more than 2,000 polling stations will open across Armenia, with nearly 2.6 million people eligible to vote.

The ballot includes 21 political parties and four electoral blocs, but two political forces are seen as the main contenders: the ruling Civic Contract party led by Pashinyan and the Armenia alliance, led by former President Robert Kocharyan.

Recent media reports cite polls showing Pashinyan’s party and Kocharyan’s bloc in a close race and it’s unclear if either will be able to win 54% of parliament seats necessary to form a government.

IMAGE: AP