Gallup: Armenia's Pashinyan tops Kocharyan by 1.8% in new survey

PanARMENIAN.Net - The approval rating of Armenia's Civil Contract party, which is led by acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan leads Hayastan (Armenia) bloc headed by ex-President Robert Kocharyan by 1.8%, a fresh survey conducted by Gallup International reveals.

22.4% of respondents said in late May – down from 27.2% a month earlier – that they would vote for Pashinyan's party if elections were held next Sunday, Gallup said.

Support for Kocharyan and his block, meanwhile, grew over the one-month period – from 8.1% to 20.6%.

All the other relatively major political forces gained a little ground, according to the survey. Prosperous Armenia's rating grew from 3.7% to 4.2%, as did those of Bright Armenia (from 1.8% to 2.9%). "I Have the Honor" bloc, meanwhile, which was formed when the Republicans and the opposition Hayrenik party joined forces, has received the preliminary support of 3.9% of respondents.

Pashinyan announced on March 18 that Armenia will hold snap parliamentary elections on June 20. The PM came under fire after signing a statement with the Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents to end the war in Nagorno-Karabakh almost 45 days after the start of the military hostilities. Under the deal, the Armenian side was forced to return all the seven regions surrounding Karabakh, having lost a part of Karabakh itself in hostilities.