European observers have reported unprecedented foreign interference in Armenia's recent elections. Despite the elections being generally well-run, offering genuine choice, and professionally managed, a polarized media landscape and inflammatory rhetoric, a key challenge to democratic resilience was direct foreign pressure. This interference, characterized by escalating trade restrictions and security threats, aimed to unduly influence voters in favor of the opposition. Observers noted that while voters had the opportunity to make a genuine choice, they had to do so against this backdrop of external pressure, including punitive trade measures and threats of negative consequences based on their electoral decision.