Parakar elects new mayor following murder of Volodya Grigoryan

The municipal council of Parakar, a community near Yerevan, elected a new mayor on October 7 following the killing of Mayor Volodya Grigoryan last month.

Onik Akhverdyan, representing the Unity bloc of the slain mayor, was nominated unopposed. The city council approved his candidacy and elected him as mayor in a vote.

The session began with a moment of silence in honor of Volodya Grigoryan, who was shot dead outside his home on September 23. The attack also claimed the life of an off-duty police officer, a friend of the mayor who was with him at the time. Another individual was injured in the shooting. Days later, police arrested two suspects and indicated that the murder appeared to be the result of a blood feud.