Council Member Claims Coercion to Resign or Vote Against Mayor

“Illegal tools have been used to influence the decisions of council members,” stated Vahe Gevorgyan, a member of the “My Step” faction, during a session as he voiced his categorical rejection of the process to vote no confidence in the mayor. He believes this is not in the interests of Yerevan and democracy.

“The second reason is the tool—the language of blackmail and threats that has been used to influence the expression of will of the members of Yerevan’s council,” he added.

The council member mentioned that the legality of the voting results is already being questioned, as it was revealed yesterday that members of the council had been subjected to threats and blackmail in an attempt to obtain signatures or testimonies, prompting the Citizen Awareness NGO to file a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office regarding the crime.

“During this illegitimate process, the blackmailing tactics of the organizers were revealed, applying various pressures on council members. They were forced to either resign from their mandate or sign under the no-confidence initiative against the mayor. Just like over the past three years, they have not been able to conduct simple political calculations,” Gevorgyan noted.

He indicated that it has now become clear that the sole concern is the mayor's growing popularity and the declining support for the ruling party. “They are pushing council members to boycott, influencing their expression of will, trying to deprive Yerevan residents of a new transportation system,” he added.

“Their claims that the connection between the mayor, the council, and the government has been severed are clarified by this counter-revolutionary process and blackmail. They forget to mention that their connection has been severed both from the revolution and its values,” the council member emphasized. He also recalled an article published by HJ, a website affiliated with the Prime Minister, which attempted to tarnish the mayor's reputation without any evidence, generating only laughter among the public.