Pashinyan reveals reason of political decision triggering Gyumri early election

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has revealed that the political crisis in Gyumri, which led to early elections of City Council, was triggered the former city council refusing to advance the stolen asset recovery efforts by stepping down.

Speaking at an event in the second largest Armenian city, Pashinyan noted that the top criticism targeting his Civil Contract party pertains to what critics describe as ‘few successes’ in stolen asset recovery since he took office.

“Actually, I have to disagree with this view,” Pashinyan said. “And the fact that early elections are held in Gyumri is to some extent a direct testament of our institutional success in that process.  I want to remind you when a problem emerged in the Gyumri city council, when, as a result of the legislative amendments and the activities of the newly developed institutions of the past years it became known that one of the most important symbols of Gyumri, the Sev Berd [Black Fortress] had been illegally privatized and had to be returned to the municipality. As required by law, the General Prosecution had appealed to the Gyumri City Council, in order for the City Council to appeal to court for reclaiming the property. Certainly, in certain conditions the Civil Contract faction of the Gyumri City Council presented an initiative and in those conditions the City Council essentially voted in favor, only later to reveal that the job wasn't finished and the Gyumri City Hall now had to defend the claim in court. And most importantly, an institution is being introduced that will conduct the work of returning the illegally privatized properties in Gyumri and elsewhere across the country not through political decisions or political nerves, but institutionally. This is where the political crisis emerged, and essentially the majority of the Gyumri City Council, by resigning, had declared that it refuses to advance that agenda. This is the political reason that early elections of the city council are held in Gyumri. Early elections of city council are held in Gyumri because the Gyumri City Council had declared that it refuses to advance the agenda of returning the property that had been stolen from the people of Gyumri. This election has this context and subtext,” Pashinyan said.