Who are the Members of the Yerevan Council with the Most Absences from Meetings

The newspaper ‘Zhoghovurd’ reports that recently there have been many instances where Yerevan council meetings have been poorly attended. Surprisingly, the main absentees are members of the ruling ‘My Step’ faction.

Who are the members that are absent the most? To answer this question, ‘Zhoghovurd’ newspaper contacted the Yerevan City Hall, requesting a list of absences of council members from meetings held since October 10, 2018, the date of the first meeting.

According to the data provided by the Yerevan City Hall, 29 council meetings have been held up to now. Upon examining the list of absences, it became clear that council member Armen Ghalichyan has been absent 14 times, while faction leaders Suren Ayriamjyan, Ruben Hayrapetyan, and Pavel Mazmanyan each missed 12 meetings. Additionally, Ovsanna Hovsepyan and Karine Baghdasaryan were absent 11 times, and Edgar Barseghyan, Arman Harutyunyan, and Ruben Simonyan missed 10 meetings each. The other council members have even fewer absences. For instance, Ashot Mnatsakanyan was absent 9 times, while Lilit Pipoyan and Sergey Asatryan were absent 8 times each, and so on.

In a conversation with ‘Zhoghovurd’, Armen Ghalichyan, who recorded the highest number of absences at 14, stated that his absences were due to health issues. Moreover, former rector of the University of Economics Ruben Hayrapetyan mentioned that during his term, he found it challenging to balance both roles and even declined the compensation offered to council members, which is equivalent to the minimum wage.

For more details, refer to today’s issue of the newspaper.