The new Armenian government celebrates a tremendous victory in the election of the Council of Elders in the capital. The voting block "My Step" sent the well-known actor Aik Marutyan into the race and received 81% of the votes. Voter turnout was over 40%, higher than any previous mayor elections in Yerevan. According to the reports, the elections were peaceful and without major irregularities, so that the political opponents of the new government have refrained from criticizing the electoral process.
Aik Marutyan, who will officially take office as mayor on 10 October, is unlike his main rival Naira Zograbyan of the party "Prosperous Armenia", which got only 7% of the votes, not a professional politician. Some of his comments caused controversy in Armenia. He said in a demonstration to his followers that there are currently only "white and black political forces" in Armenia, and that the new government is one of the "white ones". All those who did not want the success of the new government, however, he described as "black forces".
However, the little-experienced political "newcomer" Marutyan received strong support from the Prime Minister Nicol Pashinyan, who had taken over the country’s leadership in May 2018 as a result of the "Velvet Revolution". Pashinyan actively participated in Marutyan's election appearances and promoted "his" candidate. For so far Pashinyan's political opponents have gladly reminded him that his parliamentary group is the smallest in parliament, and that he has no right to speak in the name of the people. The 81% victory of his candidate will put Pashinyan in a stronger negotiating position.
The huge success of the "My Step" bloc in Yerevan is likely to encourage the new government in its desire to hold an extraordinary parliamentary election as soon as possible. At the same time, the clear victory of Marutyan is putting pressure on the former ruling party "Republican Party of Armenia" (RPA), which is currently the strongest parliamentary group and is unlikely to be interested in the new elections.
Nicol Pashinyan has already announced from New York, where he is attending the General Assembly of the UN, that he will initiate negotiations with the parliamentary groups in the near future to discuss the conditions and deadlines for the extraordinary parliamentary election. Nicol Pashinyan’s recent success in the capital suggests that he now has good chances to prevail against the old elites.
