National Progress Party seeks new elections to Yerevan Council of Elders

YEREVAN, September 29. /ARKA/. Former Yerevan mayor Hayk Marutyan, whose National Progress Party won 14 seats in the September 17 elections to the Council of Elders (municipal assembly), said they would not attend the maiden session of the newly elected Council, slated for October 10.

The reason, he said in a Facebook post is to cause absence of quorum and fail election of a new government-supported mayor. He added that they would seek new elections.

"We declare that we will not attend the first meeting so that it does take place, the quorum will not be ensured and new elections to the Council of Elders will have to be held," Marutyna, nominated by his party as a mayoral candidate, said.

Marutyan explained that the problem is that two members of the Council of Elders from the Public Voice party (it won 7 seats) - Artak Galstyan and Tigran Urikhanyan - cannot physically attend the session, as Galstyan is under arrest and Urikhanyan is wanted by law-enforcers.

The National Progress, the Public Voice parties and the other opposition alliance Mother Armenia that won altogether 33 seats could make an alliance and push through their mayoral candidate.

However, the Mother Armenia alliance (it won 12 seats) said they would also boycott the session of the newly elected Council of Elders to cause absence of quorum and seek new elections.

‘However, if a Public Voice Party member attends the session then the session will take place and PM Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party that won 24 seats and its potential ally Hanrapetutyun party that won 8 seats could together elect a mayor. But if no Public Voice member attends the session, the meeting will not take place and no mayor will not be elected,’ Marutyan said. -0-