‘Living Country’ Demands Early Elections for Yerevan City Council

The president of the ‘Living Country’ party, Mane Tandilyan, made a post on her Facebook page demanding early elections for the Yerevan City Council.

“The ‘Living Country’ party demands early elections for the Yerevan City Council. This demand comes because the current situation is dictated by law. It has been two weeks since the resignation of the Yerevan mayor, yet the current council has not elected a new mayor from among its ranks. According to legislative regulations, in this situation, the Government must shorten the council's powers and simultaneously call for early elections,” she stated.

“However, from the statements and actions of the individual vying for the position of mayor, who is serving his own interests and not the will of the Yerevan residents, it is evident that there is a clear attempt to circumvent the law by failing to meet the legal requirement,” she stressed.

“Early elections are not beneficial to him and his party given the existing background of declining trust and disappointment,” she added, noting that current representatives fear conducting early elections as they are fully aware that in a legal election, the residents of Yerevan would reject them.

“These people are capable of anything, disregarding legislation, the demands and rights of the people. Gentlemen, you seem to forget about the ‘boomerang effect’; let it be known that your time will come when the law catches up with you,” the president of the ‘Living Country’ party asserted.

“In any case, we still expect the Government's wisdom and demand that the law be prioritized over political convenience. Otherwise, as I have already stated, our meeting point will be court. It is now a matter of honor – Yerevan must have a legally elected government through lawful means.”

Reference: According to decision N 899-N dated August 16, 2018, the Government shortened the term of the Yerevan City Council's powers, based on the fact that the mayor of Yerevan announced his resignation on July 9, 2018, and that a period of two weeks had lapsed without a new mayor being elected by July 30, 2018. This decision was made by the acting government, only 17 days after the resignation.