Political Battles Await This Autumn: "Hraparak"

"Hraparak" newspaper reports: In autumn, local self-government elections are expected in 494 communities, with mayoral elections in 62 communities and council member elections in 149 communities. Additionally, in 283 communities, both mayoral and council member elections will take place. Overall, around 1,100 polling stations are expected to be established; for comparison, there are approximately 2,000 polling stations in Armenia.

The issue is that due to the coronavirus pandemic and the war, local self-government elections have not been held in Armenia for nearly two years. According to data published on the Central Electoral Commission's website, the last mayoral election took place on March 3, 2020. Many other communities have had vacant elected positions for quite some time, either because the terms of their mayors have expired or they resigned early. Furthermore, the government appointed interim officials months ago after passing an unconstitutional law.

In the communities of Tumanyan in Lori Province, Tatev in Syunik Province, and Dilijan in Tavush Province, local self-government elections were held on February 15, 2016; the mandates of the mayors and council members of these communities expired this February. In Ijevan, the functions of the mayor have been performed by Haik Ghalumyan, a godfather of Nikol Pashinyan, since September 14, 2019, who was appointed governor before the elections, leaving the mayor's position vacant. Since 2019, no elections have been scheduled in Ijevan, which is a gross violation of the law. The terms of the mayors of Talin, Spitak, and other communities have also expired.

Some local self-government elections will take place on September 26, and others on October 17. Although there are currently no vigorous pre-election processes among opposition circles, sources from both the "Hayastan" bloc and the "Pativ unom" indicate that they will not miss the opportunity to take power locally and are preparing for local self-government elections after contesting the results in the Constitutional Court, intending to have candidates in at least the larger cities.

It is noteworthy that elections for councils and mayors will now be held through proportional representation in all cities, meaning through party lists, similar to parliamentary elections.