Armenia`s premier announces first-ever primary election on Gyumri  mayor 

ArmInfo. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced his intention to hold an  intra-party vote (primary) to elect the acting mayor of Gyumri.

Pashinyan noted that all experts say that it is impossible to  overcome the governance crisis without the prime minister's  intervention. "This intervention consists of the following: based on  the results of the upcoming amendments to the electoral legislation,  I must appoint an acting mayor of Gyumri," he said live on air.

According to the head of the Cabinet, after discussing the issue with  the board of the Civil Contract Party (GD, the ruling force - ed.),  he came to the conclusion that he cannot make a unilateral,  administrative decision. In this regard, an intra-party vote  (primary) to elect the acting mayor of Gyumri will be held soon.

I will appoint the candidate who wins the vote as acting mayor of  Gyumri, who, in all likelihood, will also become our candidate in the  next elections to the Council of Elders of Gyumri>, Pashinyan said.

The primaries will be held on December 8, 9 and 10 in Gyumri.

On October 28, Gyumri Mayor Vardges Samsonyan resigned. This happened  after a criminal case was opened against the founder of the bloc,  former mayor Samvel Balasanyan, who is accused of illegally  alienating land plots around the famous "Black Fortress". One of  Balasanyan's sons was recently detained.  At the same time, members  of the Council of Elders of the "Balasanyan" bloc also resigned. On  November 8, the meeting of the Council of Elders of Gyumri to elect a  new mayor of the city failed due to the lack of a quorum. In this  regard, the speaker of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan  announced the holding of new elections in Gyumri, which, according to  preliminary data, will be held in the spring of 2024. Earlier, the  candidacy of the former governor of Shirak, MP Karen Sarukhanyan was  considered for the post of mayor from the ruling party. However,  according to Armenian media, his candidacy was rejected after a drug  test in the blood showed a positive result.

Meanwhile, according to the media, the Civil Contract intends to  seize power in Gyumri with the help of the heads of the Democracy,  Law, Discipline party Vardan Ghukasyan and the Republic party Aram  Sargsyan, who are running for mayor, thus repeating the Yerevan  scenario and taking control of the city together with other parties.  According to the Hraparak newspaper, the authorities took the  opposition field of Gyumri by surprise, and potential candidates  believe that there is no time to prepare for the elections to the  Council of Elders, and it is impossible to win in hasty elections, so  there are concerns that the State Duma in Gyumri will repeat the  Yerevan experience, that is, seize power with the help of Sargsyan  and Ghukasyan's parties. "Representatives of a number of parties have  been holding consultations with I Have the Honor MP Martun Grigoryan  for the past few days, persuading him to run, but he categorically  refuses," the publication added.