BFF-37 Armenian capital holds snap polls in test for pro-reform PM

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Armenian capital holds snap polls in test for pro-reform PM

YEREVAN, Sept 23, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Residents of Yerevan took to municipal
polls Sunday, the first vote held in the ex-Soviet country since mass
protests pushed its former leader to resign, and a major test for the new
government.

The election of the city council or Council of Elders and mayor in the
capital, where almost half the national population lives, is crucial for
Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who was swept into his new role
after spearheading weeks of protests in May.

Pashinyan, whose popularity is based on his anti-corruption and economic
reform stance, still faces an Armenian parliament mostly comprised of members
of the formerly ruling Republican party.

Ahead of the polls, he urged citizens to cast ballots for his allies,
saying the outcome will determine whether he has enough public support to
negotiate holding snap parliamentary election.

The mayoral seat has been empty since former mayor Taron Margaryan resigned
on July 9 over corruption allegations and protests urging him to quit. Snap
polls were triggered when the city council was unable to select a new mayor.

By Armenian law, the mayor is selected based on election results for the
council: if one party gains more than half of the votes, the party’s
candidate becomes mayor.

In case of a different outcome, the new council selects the mayor via
secret ballot.

Twelve parties and alliances are running for council seats. At the top of
the list of Pashinyan’s alliance My Step is popular actor and comedian Hayk
Marutyan.

Thirty-two-year-old construction worker Sargis Hakobyan said he backed
Pashinyan’s party “to continue the revolution, reform”.

“We all understand that the new government needs our support so that anti-
revolution forces cannot come back,” he told AFP.

The Republican party of ex-president Serzh Sarkisian is not participating
in the council polls.

BSS/AFP/MRI/1900 HRS