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Sunday’s municipal elections in Yerevan have cleared the way for the end of “political monopoly” and democratic development in Armenia, opposition activist Avetik Chalabyan claims.

Voters headed to the polls on Sunday to elect a municipal council and decide on Yerevan’s mayor for the next five years.

Only some 28.5 percent of Yerevan’s eligible voters cast ballots in the elections.

According to preliminary results, the ruling Civil Contract party garnered 32.57% of the vote, felling short of an absolute majority in the municipal council which is empowered to appoint the next mayor.

In a social media post on Monday, Chalabyan, who coordinates the Hayakve ballot initiative, claimed the low voter turnout was a “strong message to all political forces that people have higher expectations.”

“Despite the large-scale abuse of administrative resources, the ruling party gained 2.5 times fewer votes in the Yerevan elections than in the 2021 parliamentary elections, which says much about its approval rating,” the activist wrote.

“The widespread pessimistic view that it is impossible to achieve a change of government in Armenia through elections has finally faded away; it’s quite possible and paves the way for the elimination of political monopoly and truly democratic development in the country,” Chalabyan said.

He claims "much remains to be done" to restore the public trust in Armenia’s political institutions.