1991 Armenian independence referendum

An independence referendum was held in Armenia on 21 September 1991 to determine whether to secede from the Soviet Union.[1] It followed a declaration of independence on 23 August 1990.[2] 99.5% of voters voted in favour, with a turnout of 95%.[3] The country officially became an independent state on 23 September 1991.[4]

Results

Choice	Votes	%
For	2,042,627	99.51
Against	10,002	0.49
Invalid/blank votes	4,129	–
Total	2,056,758	100
Registered voters/turnout	2,163,967	95.05
Source: Direct Democracy

Aftermath

Following the referendum, Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev unsuccessfully attempted to persuade Armenia to join the Union of Sovereign States. However, the Armenian government signed an economic treaty with Russia that created a free-trade zone.[5]

Levon Ter-Petrosyan was elected the first president of Armenia in November 1991 and Armenia formally gained independence on 26 December 1991.

See also

• Independence Day (Armenia)

References

1. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I, p329 ISBN 0-19-924958-X
2. "Armenian Declaration of Independence". Archived from the original on 12 September 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
3. Nohlen et al., p332
4. "Самоопределение по ленинским принципам". АПН - Агентство Политических Новостей (in Russian). Retrieved 2019-06-26.
5. "Restoration of Armenian Independence: Armenian Third Republic". University of South Florida Tampa Library.