Nagorno-Karabakh conflict casts shadow over Armenia’s snap poll

PM Pashinyan is looking to extend his leadership, but after losing a war to Azerbaijan last year, he faces a tough challenge.

A polarised Armenia is preparing to vote in snap parliamentary elections viewed as a test of whether hard-won democracy can survive the political turmoil caused by defeat in last year’s Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The outcome of Sunday’s election will define post-war Armenia and the future of a 30-year conflict with Azerbaijan, yet many voters are undecided in what is seen by some as a choice between bad and worse. Four blocs and 22 parties will go up against caretaker prime minister Nikol Pashinyan, who stepped down in April following months of protests over his signing of a peace deal last year that ended six weeks of fighting.