Civil Contract Deputy Arthur Hovhannisyan Was Resolving Housing Issues During the War

The Secretary of the Civil Contract faction in the National Assembly, Arthur Hovhannisyan, was engaged in resolving housing issues during the 44-day war. According to the "Joghorkh" newspaper, while the adversary was targeting both military personnel and civilians with various means of mass destruction, the parliamentary deputy was considering how to acquire an apartment under preferential conditions.

The newspaper learned from the official website of the Construction Committee that on October 20, 2020, during the hottest days of the war, the committee's chairman, former Republican Party member Armen Ghulyan, signed decision No. "80-A" regarding the provision of housing for public servants. According to the order, more than 1,400 public servants, including Deputy Arthur Hovhannisyan, are set to acquire an apartment in a multi-apartment complex being built at 19/8 Adonts Street in Yerevan's Arabkir administrative district.

Yesterday, "Joghorkh" made several attempts to contact Arthur Hovhannisyan to hear his view on whether he had any personal grievances to deal with during those days. However, the deputy did not respond to our messages or calls.

The parliamentary deputy, who frequently mentions "corrupt former officials," does not seem to differ in serving his personal interests from the "former officials." At a critical moment for Armenia, when our brothers were falling under the fire of "Bayraktars" and phosphorus weapons, and none of us knew what would come upon us the next day, Hovhannisyan took advantage of the powers granted by his mandate to address the issue of housing.

By the way, the Construction Committee addressed Hovhannisyan's housing issue as "a priority." We tried to clarify how the priority for acquiring apartments is determined. Chairperson Armen Ghulyan did not respond to our calls; his press secretary first listened to our questions orally and then provided the most favored and evasive response from government agencies: to send a written inquiry. We also wanted to hear from Ghulyan about the urgency of decision No. "80-A" and why he chose to engage with it during the hottest days of the war. The question was left unanswered by the agency headed by Armen Ghulyan. They also did not answer what preferential conditions public servants, including Hovhannisyan, received for acquiring housing based on that decision.

Nevertheless, we learned that public servants, including deputy Hovhannisyan, acquired their apartments at a price approximately 30% lower than the market value. Additionally, they benefit from a government program for income tax returns. So what is the outcome? The 32-year-old Hovhannisyan, who owns no real estate, primarily needed his mandate to resolve housing issues.

The full article can be found in today's edition of the newspaper.