Samvel Karapetyan, leader of the Strong Armenia electoral bloc, took part in Armenia’s parliamentary elections despite being under house arrest.

Karapetyan arrived at his polling station accompanied by his daughter, Tatevik Karapetyan, and law enforcement officers. After casting his vote, he said that pressure and arrests had continued throughout the campaign but insisted they would not influence the will of Armenian voters, The Caspian Post reports via Sputnik Armenia.

“The Armenian people will make their choice today, and the country will finally have a legitimate government,” Karapetyan told reporters.

Asked whether he would return to Russia if his bloc fails to secure victory, Karapetyan said he has no plans to leave Armenia.

“I am not going anywhere. I will continue working in Armenia for the next 10 years because there is still a lot of work to be done here,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Narek Karapetyan, who heads the bloc’s electoral list, also cast his ballot and said he voted for change in Armenia.

More than 2.48 million Armenian citizens are eligible to vote in the parliamentary election, with 16 political parties and two electoral blocs competing for seats in the National Assembly.

Parties must secure at least 4% of the vote to enter parliament, while electoral blocs face a higher threshold depending on their composition. No minimum voter turnout is required for the election to be considered valid.