Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that as long as his government keeps pursuing its peace agenda, there will be no war. He spoke at a press briefing when asked about his campaign warning that a new war could break out in September if the Civil Contract party failed to win a constitutional majority. “As long as we consistently continue the peace agenda and support it with all possible means, there will be no war; there will be peace,” the Armenian PM said.

According to preliminary results of the June 7 parliamentary elections, Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party won a majority of seats but fell short of a constitutional majority, taking 49.825% of the vote. Samvel Karapetyan’s Strong Armenia Alliance came second with 23.281%, and former president Robert Kocharyan’s Armenia Alliance took 9.934%. Business tycoon Gagik Tsarukyan’s Prosperous Armenia Party narrowly missed the 4% threshold at 3.996%, with recounts underway ahead of final results expected on June 14.

Pashinyan also accused the opposition forces he labeled the “tripartite war party” of relying on vote-buying, arguing that none would have entered parliament without it, and urged law enforcement and the courts to tackle electoral crimes and ensure accountability. He said the criminal justice system must explain why electoral wrongdoing continues without sufficient consequences.

After the elections, Pashinyan chaired the first Cabinet meeting of the new term, saying the government would press ahead with reforms and draft a new program built around continuity of the “peace agenda” as the top national priority.