ARF to discuss participation in Yerevan City Council elections after election date is announced

YEREVAN, JULY 24, ARMENPRESS. The ARF Supreme Council has not made a decision yet on participation in the Yerevan City Council elections and will discuss this issue after the election date is announced, ARF faction head of the Armenian Parliament Armen Rustamyan told reporters on July 24, Armenpress reports.

“We will hold a concrete discussion when the election date is announced. There is no obstacle for participation, but that decision should be made by the Supreme Council as it is a serious political election. The issue on which format we are going to participate in the elections, whether in the previous format or the new one, should be discussed”, Rustamyan said.

Rustamyan said he has great expectations from these City Council elections as a political situation has changed in the country, but the ARF didn’t participate in the previous elections of the City Council due to being disappointed from the parliamentary elections.

“We didn’t participate in the previous elections of the Yerevan City Council, since according to our assessments, there was a widespread electoral bribe in the parliamentary elections which must have passed to the Yerevan City Council elections very smoothly, and as the political level was low there than the level of the national election, we didn’t participate for that reason. But now there is a new political situation, and these realities will force new approaches to every political force. And the elections will be held in another atmosphere which, I suppose, will be more democratic”, Armen Rustamyan said.

Commenting on the views according to which different political forces announce that the ARF cannot overcome the threshold alone and should leave the political field, Armen Rustamyan said over the course of years different criticisms were made against their party. “As you see, all come and go, but the ARF remains”, he said.

On July 9 Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margaryan resigned.

The snap elections of the Mayor are being held within a timeframe set by the City Council, but no later than within a month.

During the snap elections, the right to nominate candidates for the Mayor belongs to the City Council’s factions.

The City Council members are voting at the snap elections. Each member of the Council has a right to one vote. If one candidate is nominated, he/she is elected Mayor if the number of votes in favor is more than the number of votes against.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan