Candidate Held Hostage for Nearly a Year to Run Again in Elections

The newspaper "Hraparak" reports that elections for community leaders are scheduled for September in various municipalities, including the Berd community in Tavush province. The community's mayor, Harutyun Manucharyan, has been detained by the authorities for nearly a year, essentially being held hostage.

According to our sources, Manucharyan will run again in these elections, leading the newly formed alliance of his "My Powerful Community" and Vahan Babayan's "Reformist" parties, which will campaign under the name "Powerful Community." Notably, there is a possibility that a similar participation might occur in Gyulagarak, where negotiations with a candidate are still ongoing.

It is worth mentioning that recent amendments to the Electoral Code have prohibited pre-election alliances from being represented by individuals' names, unlike last year when the alliances of Arush Arushanyan and Mamikon Aslanyan were active. The ruling party understands that they lack a credible figure, and thus they must do everything possible to prevent that individual's name from being mentioned.

Recall that Manucharyan was arrested last November. He found himself at the throat of the government because he refused to strike a deal with Prime Minister Pashinyan's godfather, Governor Ghalumyan, to resign so that a loyal interim appointment could be made and Berd could also be seized. Manucharyan supported the opposition in last year's snap elections and ended up on the authorities' blacklist.

Harutyun Manucharyan has been charged under Article 308, Part 1 (abuse of official powers) and Article 314, Part 1 (official forgery) of the Criminal Code based on a fabricated fact.

For more details, refer to today's issue of the newspaper.