Yerevan Mayoral Race Is Dry Run for Parliamentary Elections

The election was not a direct one for the mayor; it was for 65 city elders. Whichever party received a commanding lead would appoint its leader as the city’s mayor.

It is important to note that this was the first free election in the country and voters were warned of stiff punishment for irregularities and bribes. Any voter offering or receiving bribes would be risking a jail term of five to eight years.

There were intense debates about the merits of the candidates, particularly about the comedian Marutyan.

There was a relaxed atmosphere when the voters approached the ballot box.

Unofficial results showed that the voter turnout was light, 44 percent. This result gave some political ammunition to the ousted leadership which tried to correlate the results to lackluster support for the new leadership, since Pashinyan had campaigned heavily in support of his team, headed by Haik Marutyan. Even on the early morning of the election, on his way to New York for his appearance at the United Nations, the prime minister made it a point to cast his ballot before leaving.

There are 848,343 registered voters in Yerevan.

In fact, it turned out that the election participation was only 3 percent lower than in the previous election. The government party explained the shortfall with the fact that In the past, people were bribed to vote. Even the dead and absentees figured among the voters. Also, political parties provided transportation to the voters to buy their voices.

The current election was on a voluntary basis and in a peaceful atmosphere to reflect the realistic profile of the electorate.

The results were as follows: My Step, 81 percent; Looys Alliance 4.9 percent; ARF (Dashnaktsutyun), 1.6 percent; Tsirani Yerkir (Zarouhi Postanjian’s party), 1.3 percent.

The remaining groups received 1 percent or fewer votes.

The election results blew off the mask of the previous elections, when parties claimed more popularity than they actually enjoyed.

Now comes the real issue: As long as the Republican party enjoys a majority (61 members) in the parliament, Pashinyan will be heading a lame duck government. Therefore, based on the overwhelming victory of his party in Yerevan, he assumes that he has already received a mandate from the electorate to dissolve the parliament.

Although there are various mechanisms to dissolve parliament, they are cumbersome and time consuming, whereas time is of the essence to Pashinyan.

The other way is to submit the budget to the parliament and seek its approval. In case of a negative vote, the government would have a second chance, after which the government would have no confidence and resort to dissolving the parliament.

Nikol Pashinyan came to power in a dramatic fashion. Although he did not have a parliamentary majority, he was able to force the parliament members to vote him in, through popular action. His announcement after the release of the election results indicates that he may opt again for the revolutionary method that served him so well in the spring.

In the meantime, the old guard is getting organized to offer stiff resistance to Pashinyan. Besides the old guard, dissident groups splintered from Pashinyan’s own Yelk Alliance will resort to opposing him, though there is no indication yet whether this latter group may join the old guard in opposition. As long as disparate groups oppose Pashinyan’s moves, he may be able to force the dissolution of the parliament and call for new elections, which experts predict will take place in the fall of 2019. If Pashinyan has his way, he will expedite the elections and move them to late spring or early summer.

The Velvet Revolution has transformed the political landscape in Armenia. We may soon witness true democracy in action.

(Yerevan, Armenia)