YEREVAN, June 7 (Reuters) - Voters in Armenia head to the polls on Sunday for parliamentary elections seen as a test of the government's efforts to reach a peace agreement, following the country's crushing military defeat to Azerbaijan three years ago.

Opinion polls show the ruling Civil Contract party, led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in the lead, with support reaching about 32 percent of voters, while the pro-Russian Strong Armenia party comes in second with up to 11 percent.

Since taking power in 2018, Pashinyan has steered Armenia toward closer ties with the West, distancing it from its traditional ally Russia, much to Moscow's chagrin before the elections.

Per capita GDP doubled under Pashinyan, who transitioned from working as a journalist and opposition activist to a politician.

"I really love the way Armenia is growing before my eyes," said Karen Darbinyan, a 39-year-old voter, at a campaign rally for Pashinyan in Yerevan's central square on Friday.

Pashinyan faced a wave of criticism from the opposition and some sectors of public opinion who accused him of surrendering to Azerbaijan, especially since the 2023 war.

He responded by making peace efforts a top priority in his election campaign, particularly the agreement he signed at the White House in August with Azerbaijan after an intermittent war that had lasted since the late 1980s.

The Armenian opposition is dominated by pro-Russian groups, including the Strong Armenia party, formed last year by Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan. Karapetyan wants to keep Armenia close to Russia, a major energy supplier and export buyer.

Critics and human rights groups have accused Pashinyan of authoritarianism after he imprisoned many of his opponents in the past few years.

The government has generally defended the actions of law enforcement agencies against individuals it says are trying to incite coups.

A wave of arrests targeted the opposition in the period leading up to the vote, including parliamentary candidates from the Strong Armenia party.

Polling stations opened at 8:00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT) and will close at 8:00 p.m. Approximately 2.48 million voters are eligible to cast their ballots in this landlocked country of three million inhabitants.