Who Does Kocharian’s Team See as a Candidate for Mayor? "Hraparak"

“Hraparak” newspaper reports: “Yesterday, Robert Kocharian announced that they will definitely participate in the Yerevan mayoral elections: ‘We will find a candidate who will be acceptable and understandable to Yerevan residents.’ According to our information, during the impeachment proceedings against Hayk Marutyan, when there were discussions about the possibility of snap elections in Yerevan because the council would not elect a new mayor, political forces discussed the question of new elections.

In the ‘Hayastan’ alliance, they considered the candidacy of the president’s younger son, Levon Kocharian, who was number 50 on the parliamentary election list. Levon Kocharian told us that they did not have such discussions, and regarding his candidacy, he stated: ‘As long as no elections are scheduled, I consider discussing all this wrong and premature.’ However, it is highly likely that there will not be snap elections.

In yesterday’s press conference, the second president also spoke about this: ‘I think the authorities would go to elections if they had a little confidence that they would win in Yerevan. They did not go because they understand that they will have serious problems in Yerevan and that they cannot apply the same model here as they did in Vanadzor, Goris, or elsewhere. The capital has always been more rebellious.’”

For more details, see today’s issue of the newspaper.