YEREVAN, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Armenia's Central Election Commission (CEC) approved on Monday the protocol of preliminary results of the parliamentary elections, which confirmed a landslide victory for caretaker Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's My Step Alliance.

The party lead the polls with 70.44 percent of the vote, while its nearest rival, the Prosperous Armenia party headed by millionaire Gagik Tsarukyan, won 8.27 percent of the vote. Luminous Armenia followed with 6.37 percent, the CEC said.

No other party has crossed the 5-percent threshold to enter the parliament. The former ruling Republican Party led by former Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan garnered 4.70 percent of the vote.

Armenian President Armen Sarkissian then addressed the country, congratulating the three parties on entering the new parliament.

"I congratulate the My Step Alliance, the Prosperous Armenia and the Luminous Armenia parties, which, by passing the threshold envisaged by law, will comprise the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia," he said in an address published through his office.

Armenia kicked off snap elections on Sunday to pick a new parliament for the next five years, after a second failed attempt by the National Assembly in November to elect a prime minister.

Altogether nine political parties and two alliances were running for the National Assembly. The parliament can have at least 101 MPs and a final number of seats will be defined following the election results. Enditem

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