The result gives Pashinyan a mandate to continue Armenia’s gradual shift toward the West, including closer ties with the European Union and the United States. Russia, long Armenia’s dominant security partner, was accused by observers of trying to influence the vote through political and economic pressure. The opposition will include the Strong Armenia party, backed by Russian-Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan, and former President Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance. Prosperous Armenia, led by Gagik Tsarukyan, has requested a recount after narrowly missing the electoral threshold. Pashinyan is expected to keep economic links with Moscow while pursuing peace with Azerbaijan and normalization with Turkey. A major test will be whether he can secure constitutional changes demanded by Baku as part of a future peace deal.