Vardenis City Hall Distributes Assistance Ahead of Elections

The newspaper "Hraparak" reports that the Vardenis City Hall is distributing assistance ahead of the elections, including flour, rice, and oil. This was brought to our attention by residents of Vardenis, who photographed the area where a line has formed behind the Culture House.

It’s worth noting that the Mayor of Goris has faced charges related to the distribution of aid, and he has been in custody for nearly five months. Vardenis Mayor Aram Melkonyan, who is the first on the Prosperous Armenia electoral list, told us he is not aware of the assistance being distributed: “I have been in the villages continuously during the campaign and have been at the city hall very little, please call my advisor.”

The mayor's advisor, Robert Stepanyan, did not deny that assistance is being distributed, stating: “We are distributing food and hygiene items, but only to those from Artsakh.” However, our source insists that those displaced from Artsakh are merely a front. “They say the assistance is for the displaced from Artsakh, but all their voters are receiving it, and regular voters are getting it too. This is the first time the city hall is distributing assistance only to people from Artsakh. If it’s only for them, why haven't they done it until now?”

The local self-government elections in Vardenis are scheduled for December 5.