‘It’s time to move forward’: Armenians vote in election closely watched by Russia and EU

Voters to choose between pro-Russian opposition and incumbent Nikol Pashinyan, who is more closely aligned with the west

Armenians are going to the polls in an election that could cement the country’s shift towards Europe and away from its traditional alliance with Russia.

Prime minister Nikol Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party enters the vote as the favourite, ahead of three opposition candidates who advocate for closer ties with Moscow. Pashinyan’s main challenger, Samvel Karapetyan, a Russian-Armenian billionaire who built much of his fortune in Russia, has been forced to campaign from house arrest at his mansion outside Yerevan.