Who will become the mayor of Yerevan? Election campaign in the capital of Armenia
Election campaign for the Yerevan Council of Elders
The election campaign has started in Yerevan, in which 14 political forces – 13 parties and one bloc – are participating. They are competing for seats in the Council of Elders, which actually fulfills the role of the capital’s parliament.
If we take into account that almost half of the country’s residents live in Yerevan, the result of these elections will actually reveal which political force is favored in Armenia as a whole. The results of these elections will also determine who will become the mayor of the capital.
The mayor can become the first number of the electoral list of the political force participating in the elections – a bloc or a party, which gets 40 or more percent of the mandates in the Council of Elders. If none of the participants in the election succeeds in achieving such a result, the parties elected to the Council may form a coalition and decide who will be elected mayor.
The election campaign will last until September 15. Elections will be held on September 17.
According to the results of a poll conducted by MPG (Marketing Professional Group), a sociological organization representing GALLUP International in Armenia, there is no clear leader yet. But among those polled, Tigran Avinian, who was nominated for the post of mayor by the ruling Civil Contract party, got the most votes at 9.3%. He is a former deputy prime minister of Armenia and now serves as deputy mayor of Yerevan.
About the mayoral contenders
Most of the candidates for mayor are unknown to ordinary residents of Yerevan. But there are some former high-ranking officials among them:
- Tigran Avinian, a member of the ruling Civil Pact party and former deputy prime minister,
- Hayk Marutyan, former mayor of Yerevan, who heads the list of the National Progress party,
- Mane Tandilyan, candidate of the “Country for Life” party, former Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia, as well as of the unrecognized NKR.
Most of the political forces running in the elections met with Yerevan residents on the first day of the campaign and presented their programs. Some chose to start the campaign with marches and rallies.
“52-55% don’t believe the election will be fair”
Aram Navasardyan, head of the Armenian representative office of GALLUP International, said that the poll was conducted by telephone from July 27 to August 5. He said the majority of respondents do not believe in fair and honest elections:
“Only 16.1% of respondents unequivocally believe in holding fair elections, 28.9% responded that they are rather inclined to trust the results of elections, 19.9% are more inclined not to trust them, 32.1% unequivocally do not believe in fair elections, 3.3% found it difficult to answer the question.”
33.4% of respondents found it difficult to answer the question for whom they will vote in the upcoming elections. 11% stated that they are not going to vote for any of the participants, 19.2% do not intend to participate in the elections at all, 5.7% refused to participate in the poll.
While 9.3% of respondents expressed their readiness to vote for Tigran Avinian, nominated by the ruling party, 3.7% expressed their readiness to vote for former Mayor Hayk Marutyan.
2.8% are ready to vote for the “Armenia” bloc, 2.2% for the “Country for Life” party, and 2% for the “Enlightened Armenia” party.
According to the results of the poll, it was found out what problems the residents of Yerevan are more concerned about:
- garbage disposal – 33.4%,
- work of public transportation – 29%,
- poor condition of roads and traffic jams – 10.5%,
- environmental problems – 7%.
Commentary
Political technologist Vigen Hakobyan believes that the Armenian authorities will do everything to win these elections, as they understand that Yerevan is the political center of the country, the most oppositional city, where ratings and spheres of influence are formed.
In his opinion, this victory is vital for the current government headed by Nikol Pashinyan:
“With this victory, they will try to regain their lost legitimacy, because they came to the previous elections [snap parliamentary elections] with other slogans, particularly on the Artsakh issue. But after they were elected again, they actually surrendered Artsakh [to Azerbaijan]”.
However, the expert believes that it will not be easy to achieve victory in Yerevan with the current rating of the current government. At the same time, he pointed out that after the appointment of his candidate, Tigran Avinian, as deputy mayor, “administrative resources were also used”.
As for the other participants of the elections, everyone has his own goal and objectives. Some claim just to be on the political field, there are forces that really seek to win, and there are “spoiler parties.”
“Their goal is to promote one or another of the parties that spawned them. They will try not only to level votes in favor of their competitors, but also to do on the propaganda wave what the “mother party” considers beneath its dignity. That is, black PR in relation to a particular competitor”.
According to the Hakobyan’s assessment, these elections cannot be considered purely municipal in their content and character, as “Yerevan is the political brain and heart of Armenia, political trends are formed here”.
He believes that those forces, which will present “a hybrid of political and urban programs,” will be able to succeed.
According to Hakobyan, “National Progress” led by former mayor Hayk Marutyan and “Country for Life” with mayoral candidate Mane Tandilyan have chances to become part of some coalition in the future.
“As for the “Country for Life” party, in my opinion, the process will be influenced by the extent to which the de facto leader of this party Ruben Vardanyan [former state minister of the unrecognized NKR, big businessman], who actually heads the opposition in Artsakh, will directly position himself as its leader. If he does, it will strengthen the party’s position.”
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Election campaign for the Yerevan Council of Elders
