Nazeli Baghdasarian from the ruling party tried to nominate her brother as a candidate

The newspaper "Hraparak" writes that the nominations for the mayoral partial elections scheduled for October 17 in Gyumri will begin on September 2. Political parties and alliances can submit their lists of candidates for council members until September 12. The elections for the leader of the second largest city in Armenia are surprisingly of little interest to the residents of Gyumri. So far, no political force, including the ruling party, has officially announced its intention to participate in the elections.

According to media reports, the government candidate is the current governor of Shirak, Hovhannes Harutyunyan. There were also rumors of a barter deal where the current mayor, Samvel Balasanyan, would be appointed governor while the governor would become the mayor. However, there are discussions in Gyumri about a different scenario: Balasanyan's team might participate in the elections with the party "Spirit of Gyumri" founded by his son or perhaps another force. He has stated among his inner circle that their goal is to ensure a significant presence in the council and to support the current mayor in solving city issues.

Moreover, according to our sources, Nazeli Baghdasarian from the ruling party has also made efforts for the mayor's position, attempting to nominate her brother as a candidate, but was unsuccessful.

There is also certainty about the candidate from the Republican Party; the Republican Party will participate alone, and its candidate for mayor is former MP Artem Ghukasyan, who is the nephew of former Gyumri mayor Vardan Ghukasyan. The Prosperous Armenia Party has not yet made a decision, and is considering one of the council members who is a businessman. Meanwhile, the Kocharyan faction remains silent.

For more details, refer to today's edition of the newspaper.