Voter turnout approaches 49% in Armenia's parliamentary election

Voter turnout in Armenia's parliamentary election reached 48.92 per cent by 5:00 p.m. local time, three hours before polling stations were due to close, according to the country's Central Election Commission.

CEC member Zhirayr Karapetyan said that 1,224,957 voters had cast their ballots by that time.

The turnout figure was higher than in the previous parliamentary election, when participation stood at 38.52 per cent at the same stage of voting.

Armenians are voting on Sunday in a parliamentary election that will determine the composition of the country's 107-seat National Assembly.

Nearly 2.5 million registered voters are eligible to take part in the election.