Armenia tightens voting rules for citizens living abroad

Armenia's parliament tightened the rules for citizens living abroad to vote, approving a law on July 3 that requires most voters to have lived in the country for at least 366 of the previous 730 days. The residency test will be measured 48 days before a regular election and 28 days before a snap vote, with exemptions for Armenian diplomats and students enrolled at foreign universities.

The change carries unusual weight in Armenia, a country of roughly 3 million people with a diaspora that stretches far beyond its borders. Russia says more than 2 million Armenians work there, making the Russian-based community one of the largest groups potentially affected by the new restrictions. For many of those citizens, the law effectively draws a line between people with deep family and cultural ties to Armenia and people deemed too detached from day-to-day life in the country to help choose its leaders.

Lawmakers backed the amendments by 63 votes, framing the measure as a safeguard against outside manipulation and vote-buying. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government has been under pressure to respond to concerns that Russia tried to use Armenians living in Russia to influence Armenia's political direction after the June 7 parliamentary election.

That election delivered Pashinyan's Civil Contract party 49.8% of the vote, or 726,819 ballots, and the Central Election Commission said turnout was nearly 59%. The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights said the contest took place in a highly polarized environment, while observers from the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly said Russian pressure and threats had reached an unprecedented and worrying level.

The voting rules now sit at the center of a sharper political divide. Supporters argue that elections should be decided by voters who live with the consequences of policy in Armenia itself, especially as Yerevan tries to move closer to the West while Moscow remains deeply embedded in the country's economy, security and politics. Critics see a different pattern: a country under foreign pressure narrowing participation for citizens abroad, many of whom still send money home, keep property in Armenia and remain active in its public life.

The practical effect could be significant in future races. In a small and politically polarized state, even modest changes in who can vote abroad can alter margins, shift the balance of legitimacy and decide whether a government is seen as protected from foreign influence or insulated from part of its own nation.