Hayk Marutyan Fails to Gather a Team: 'Zhoghovurd'

'Zhoghovurd' newspaper reports that news spread in the media indicating that former Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan approached Stepan Demirchyan and requested to participate in the upcoming Yerevan City Council elections under the list led by Demirchyan’s party, but was met with refusal.

Sources have informed us that Marutyan's candidacy is being organized by the authorities to create at least some competitive background for Tigran Avinyan. Specifically, pre-election polls indicate that aside from the ruling party's candidate, residents of Yerevan have difficulty even recalling another name, raising concerns that Avinyan's election could be held with very low voter turnout, potentially below 30%.

Our sources within the authorities disclosed that both in the ruling party and Tigran Avinyan's team, efforts are being made to ensure their expected victory has a competitive veneer, and the best candidate for this is none other than former Mayor Hayk Marutyan. However, Marutyan is currently busy with his passion, giving performances and featuring in advertising commercials, and does not wish to don a suit again, deal with issues, or attend to complaints, yet nothing can be ruled out.

Some opposition figures expressed to us that the authorities have one more motive for pushing Marutyan's candidacy: they aim to demonstrate that compared to 2018, Marutyan's negligible rating will highlight how much everyone is dependent on him and how few votes they can garner when 'stepping away' from Pashinyan.

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