In Ararat Region, Members of the ruling party are 'devouring each other': 'Hraparak'

According to the newspaper 'Hraparak', ‘The waters of the members of the ruling party (Civil Contract) do not flow together not only in Yerevan but also in the regions. The local self-government elections have incited conflicts within the authorities' ‘house’, with ruling ‘Civil Contract’ members dividing into conflicting teams over the candidates.

The situation is tense in the Ararat region, where, one could say, hostile relations have developed between former and current governors Garik Sargsyan and Razmik Teyvanian. They have been competing against each other by reporting each other to law enforcement. These cases will probably be covered up at the highest levels, as both are allies of Pashinyan, who would not want to lose either of them, diluting his already thinning circle of associates.

These cases will only be opened after the members of the ruling party leave power. According to our sources, the former and current governors are making quite serious accusations against each other. The ruling party has nominated Garik Sargsyan as a candidate for the head of the enlarged community of Vedi. The current governor Teyvanian, probably, will not only not support Sargsyan, but will also obstruct him.

Garik Sargsyan was the head of the Nor Kyanq community before the 2018 change of power. Although at that time 'Civil Contract' was in opposition, they managed to win in the elections in this community. It should be noted that during his tenure as community head, he had quite a positive rating. However, that rating sharply declined after he became the governor of Ararat, as he began to make sensational statements, becoming an object of ridicule.

It turned out that he was completely incapable of leading the region and began to persecute community heads who had treated him poorly in the past. For instance, in 2018, when he was closing roads, some of them tried to stop him and ended up on Garik's blacklist. Thus, he is expected to face a difficult electoral battle, facing not only the current governor but also community heads.

Garik’s hope lies with the residents of Martuni. There are a large number of Martuni residents living in Vedi, and he, too, is originally from Martuni. Both former and current governors want to appoint their people as heads of the region's enlarged communities in the upcoming local government elections.

One of the contentious points is the enlarged community of Masis. The situation regarding the authorities is quite poor here. Initially, they negotiated with the son of former mayor Sasha Hakobyan, and then with former police chief Gagik Mkhitaryan regarding nominating his son, Artyom Mkhitaryan. The latter is Garik Sargsyan’s preferred candidate. However, this nomination has put Teyvanian on edge, who even submitted his resignation for a few hours to free himself from the position. He was persuaded to withdraw his application and facilitated the nomination of Sayad Hayrapetyan, head of the local structure of the Youth Organization of Armenia in Masis, which caused serious dissatisfaction among the Civil Contract members.

The name of Jora Zurabyan, head of the Civil Contract territorial structure, was also circulating in Masis. When Civil Contract members learned that Sayad would lead their list, there was a major dispute in the Masis headquarters, and the main core left the process, leaving only Sayad and the governor alone. Sayad has become Teyvanian’s man since he became a governor.

The residents of Masis say that Sayad is someone who adapts quickly, always manages to lean towards the power side, and has established good relations with Teyvanian as well. Civil Contract members assert that Sayad is not knowledgeable and cannot string two words together coherently, questioning what kind of mayor he would make.

It seems that the other candidates from the ruling party are filled with wisdom… Governor Razmik Teyvanian, seeing that they have been left alone and losing in Masis, has called all local mayors from the Republican and Prosperous Armenia parties and coerced them to run as candidates for the council from the Civil Contract list. He has also demanded that they work well and ensure Sayad’s victory, threatening those who do not perform well with criminal cases.”
Details in today’s issue of the newspaper.