Current Leader of Byureghavan Sees Political Vendetta Against Rival's Wife: Statement

The governing council of the "Fair Armenia" party has issued a statement regarding the upcoming community council elections in the enlarged Byureghavan community.

The statement from the party's governing council reads as follows:

“Dear compatriots, on September 25 of this year, community council elections will take place in the enlarged Byureghavan community. The current leader of the community, Hakob Sureni Balasanyan, who has been leading the Byureghavan community for about 14 years and is aiming to lead it for another 5 years, has kicked off his latest election campaign with an ignominious process of seeking vendetta against a family member of his rival, which indicates his serious fears and the inevitability of failure in the upcoming elections.

“Fair Armenia” party is also participating in the mentioned community council elections, led by Armen Hamazaspian Sargsyan, who enjoys great authority in the community, is a respectable figure, and possesses high professional capabilities.

In July of this year, Hakob Balasanyan invited Elina Hayrapetyan, the director of the Byureghavan “AREV” kindergarten, who is also the wife of Armen Sargsyan, to join his election list. After she rejected the offer, apparent politically motivated persecution against Elina Hayrapetyan began and continues to this day.

Hayrapetyan, who has been directing the Byureghavan “AREV” kindergarten for 10 years and has never faced disciplinary action during her career, has suddenly been subjected to disciplinary penalties twice by Hakob Balasanyan in the past month, creating artificial grounds for her dismissal.

It is noteworthy that among the members of the commission created by Hakob Balasanyan’s decree to conduct inspections aimed at discovering supposed violations in the kindergarten, one member is the wife of a person leading the electoral list of the ARF in the same community council elections, and Hakob Balasanyan's electoral list has been nominated by the Prosperous Armenia party.

“Fair Armenia” party observes that for years, the culture of various forms of oppression, electoral fraud, persecution, vendettas, and violence has unfortunately not disappeared from the minds of certain forces and individuals, which implies a significant risk that these people, remaining unpunished, will continue their disgraceful existence and activities.

“Fair Armenia” party strongly condemns this behavior and demands from the authorities to undertake all legal measures within their jurisdiction to ensure genuinely fair, transparent, and democratic elections. At the same time, we urge all residents of the Byureghavan community not to yield to any provocation, pressure, or illegal influence and to vote for a legitimate and authoritative council with their confidence on September 25.

“Fair Armenia” party will follow up to ensure that anyone who carries out persecution for political reasons is held accountable under Armenian law.”