Armenian opposition leader Robert Kocharyan has cast his vote in snap parliamentary elections on Sunday.
Elections are being held after months of tensions over last year’s defeat in fighting against Azerbaijan over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Speaking to reporters at the polling station, the leader of the Armenia Alliance, former President Robert Kocharyan said he voted for a “decent future and economic growth.”
He also urged the government to investigate incidents against his election campaign after leaflets against the political bloc led by Kocharyan appeared in Yerevan streets.
“If those who have done this still haven’t been found, we suspect the authorities were involved,” Kocharyan told reporters.
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 Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Armenia Alliance, led by Kocharyan.
The snap parliamentary election was called by 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.
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.