Opposition victory in Parakar, intrigue remains in Gyumri: election results in two communities in Armenia
YEREVAN, March 31. /ARKA/. In Armenia, elections to the Council of Elders were held yesterday in two communities—Gyumri (Shirak region) and Parakar (Armavir region).
According to preliminary data released by the Central Election Commission on Monday, 5 out of 9 political parties (or blocs) participating in the elections in Gyumri crossed the minimum threshold, while in Parakar, two out of 4 parties (or blocs) did.
Gyumri – The intrigue remains
In the northern capital of Armenia, 47,443 out of 111,271 eligible voters participated in the election, with a turnout of 42.66%. Among the political forces that passed the minimum threshold, the pro-government "Civil Contract" party (with mayoral candidate Sarik Minasyan) leads with 36.8% of the votes.
The following parties are in second place: the Communist Party of Armenia (Vardan Ghukasyan) with 20.71%, the "Our City" alliance (Martun Grigoryan) with 15.85%, the "My Mighty Community" party (Ruben Mkhitaryan) with 7.94%, and the "Mother Armenia" bloc (Karen Simonyan) with 6.18%.
The remaining four parties/blocs did not cross the minimum threshold for entering the Council of Elders (4% for parties, 6% for blocs). These parties are the European Alliance (Levon Barseghyan), Country for Life (Karen Malkhasyan), Democratic Alternative (Artem Karakazaryan), and the Workers' Socialist Party of Armenia (Artem Tumanyan).
Meanwhile, two opposition movements—the "Mother Armenia" bloc led by Andranik Tevanyan and the "My Mighty Community" party with Mkhitaryan—have already announced their support for the Communist Party (led by Ghukasyan), which has received the most votes among opposition forces.
They have called on other oppositionists to join them and prevent the Civil Contract from electing its candidate as the head of the community (mayor) of Gyumri.
Later, at a briefing, Ghukasyan stated that he is awaiting a response from Grigoryan regarding the consolidation of the opposition field.
“We did not have any negotiations with Martun Grigoryan, there was no reason for a meeting. We all heard his words about unification, about the opposition field being united, and about Civil Contract (ed.) not passing… Now, we will wait and see,” he said.
In Parakar, the situation is clear
In this community, 11,526 out of 20,967 citizens exercised their right to vote, with a turnout of 54.97%.
Here, the situation is more straightforward: the "Unity" bloc (with Volodya Grigoryan as a candidate for head of the community) received 6,508 votes, while the ruling "Civil Contract" party (with Ludwig Gyulnazaryan at the head of the electoral list) received 3,669 votes.
The other two parties did not pass the minimum threshold for entering the Council of Elders: 900 people voted for the "National Progress" party (Davit Minasyan), and 426 voters supported the "Stability" party (Gor Saribekyan).
The Prime Minister’s reaction
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan commented on the elections, congratulating all the political forces and candidates who won the trust of citizens and secured victory in the elections. He also assured that "all reports of illegal influence on the will of voters will be thoroughly investigated, with the priority goal of preventing their recurrence in the future."
