Extraordinary Elections to Be Held in Gorayk Amid Road Blockade and Tense Situation

Residents of the village of Tzghuk in Gorayk, a consolidated community in the Syunik province, are currently staging a protest. They have blocked the inter-state road leading from Yerevan to Meghri, demanding that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan or NSS Director Artur Vanetsyan address them.

On June 9, municipal elections were held in Gorayk. According to preliminary data released by the Central Election Commission, out of 1,408 eligible voters, 1,071 participated in the election. The preliminary results showed the following vote distribution for the community leader election: Ashot Aghajanyan received 531 votes, Artyom Grigoryan 515 votes, and Manuchar Mkrtchyan 13 votes.

Among the candidates, Artyom Grigoryan has challenged the election results in court, and the court has decided to hold new elections on June 30.

Narek Babayan, the Deputy Governor of Syunik Province, told Haykakan Zhamanak that there were discrepancies regarding 59 ballots in Tzghuk. He explained, "All 59 ballots were sealed, and the head of the commission, along with the commission, decided not to invalidate them, but to open and count those ballots. Since the vote difference between the two leading candidates was minimal, the other candidate filed a complaint. The CEC upheld the initial results, after which a court ruling was issued for new elections to take place," said Babayan.

Babayan further stated that the court had determined that the ruling was not subject to appeal. When asked whether he had tried to tell the demonstrators that this was a court decision and that they could not resolve the issue in this manner, Babayan responded, "We are working with them, but you know very well that there is a lack of trust in the judicial system, and that is one of the reasons for this action. The problem is that they have blocked the interstate road, and we are currently trying to find a way to open the road, then ensure that normal elections take place on the 30th."

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