"Hraparak" newspaper wrote:
Although Nikol Pashinyan aims to seize power in the second city of the republic by appointing him as the temporary mayor of Gyumri, and then by using administrative levers to defeat his political opponents in the upcoming elections, the opposition field has also started to actively prepare for the special elections in Gyumri, because they believe that Gyumri has a special role in the country. in life, and it is not easy to break or impose something on the voter of Gyumri. In all the previous elections, the people of Gyumri rejected the authorities and did not vote for them, and in the last elections they chose the Balasanyan alliance, not the CP.
And if the opposition parties nominate competitive candidates in Gyumri, then the CP will be in trouble. The elections in Gyumri will most likely be at the end of March, and some parties have made official statements about participating in the elections.
The first is, of course, the ruling power, which this weekend, in American terms, is holding a three-day primaries to find who is the most rated candidate of the Communist Party, whom Pashinyan will appoint as interim official. "Land of Living" has announced its participation in the elections, which now has a faction in the Gyumri Council of Elders, the candidate is the leader of the faction, Karen Malkhasyan, a respected and modest person among Gyumri people.
Suren Surenyants, the head of the "Democratic Alternative" party, who did not reveal their candidate yesterday, said that he will do so when the CP candidate becomes known. Vardan Ghukasyan, the former mayor of Gyumri, is considered one of the main competitors of the government, who also intends to run for office, but there are criminal proceedings against him and levers of pressure. By the way, there are reports that Vardanik is the one with the highest rating as a result of social polls. Vardan Ghukasyan's "Democracy, Legality, Discipline" (DOK) party of Doge will also participate, whose list, according to preliminary information, will be headed by Sona Harutyunyan, the former director of one of the city's museums.
Andranik Tevanyan's "Mother Armenia" party has also made an unofficial announcement about participating in the Gyumri elections, their candidate is Karen Simonyan, the famous Pepsi Karen in Gyumri, who assures her friends that she is a friend of Robert Kocharyan's youngest son. Artur Vanetsyan also wants to participate. Hayrenik" party, but the name of the candidate is not published yet.
Samvel Babayan, the former commander of the Armed Forces of Artsakh, will also enter the election campaign with his "United Homeland", possibly the builder Armen Tonoyan, who has a high rating in Gyumri, will lead the list. Even Khachatur Kokobelyan's "Free Democrats" are said to be negotiating with the famous businessman Gagik Adamyan, who is the owner of "Kanach Kirch" restaurant and the director of "Apaven" MC.
From the first day of the devolution of power in Gyumri, there is also talk about the nomination of Karen Petrosyan, who became the rector of the Gyumri University of Economics, who is one of the organizers of the campaign against the church in 2019, the protégé of the head of the Prime Minister's Office, Araik Harutyunyan. About his nomination, the people of Gyumri say that as Arayik will decide, it is possible that he will lead the list of Aram Zavenich's "Republic".
The name of independent member of Gyumri Council of Elders, Vardevan Hakobyan, is also circulating among the candidates for mayor. He was the head of the "Zartonk" faction of the Council of Elders, then he became an independent member of the Council of Elders, and he also has connections with the government. In Gyumri, he is known as Grom or Vardan of the KGB, he is the owner of the "Grom Security" service, a former KGB dog, his company has contracts with state institutions.
As for the title-bearing opposition, RPA will not participate, Robert Kocharyan's team and ARF will also. Andranik Tevanyan is already the second choice, he is proactive and does not let anyone submit a bid. On the one hand, he is perceived as Kocharian, on the other hand, the Kocharians do not clearly protect him and have great reservations about him.
