Developments around Gyumri municipal council decisive, expert says
The ongoing developments surrounding the Gyumri City Council play a pivotal role, political analyst Stepan Danielyan claims.
His comments came after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan asked his Civil Contract party members and supporters to nominate candidates or self-nominate for acting mayor of Gyumri who will be picked at preliminary elections.
“I will appoint the winning candidate as Gyumri’s acting mayor, who will likely be Civil Contract’s mayoral candidate in the upcoming elections to the City Council,” Pashinyan announced.
Armenia’s second largest city has been left without a mayor for over a month following the resignation of the ruling Balasanyan bloc.
In a social media post on Thursday, Danielyan claimed the decision ran counter to Armenia’s constitution.
“This is a complete usurpation of power and, if successful, such a practice will be used in other communities,” he wrote.