Yerevan City Council fails
Monday’s session of the Yerevan Council of Elders, and with the agenda of electing a new mayor of Armenia’s capital city, was not convened.
After returning from the announced recess, First Deputy Mayor Kamo Areyan announced that if there was no quorum at the municipal council session, a recess was announced, and that if there was no quorum after the recess too, the session was considered non-convened.
“At this time, there is no quorum at the Yerevan Council of Elders’ session,” Areyan stated. “[So] the session is considered non-convened.”
After Taron Margaryan’s resignation from his post as Yerevan Mayor on July 9, the municipal council had decided to convene a session on Monday, and to elect a new mayor. The sole mayoral candidate was Zaruhi Postanjyan, chairperson of the Yerkir Tsirani (Apricot Country) Party and of its faction at the Yerevan Council of Elders.
But two of the three political forces represented in the Yerevan municipal council—namely, the former ruling Republican Party of Armenia and the “Way Out” (Yelk) coalition—had announced that not only were they not going to nominate a mayoral candidate, but, also, they would not attend Monday’s session.
Only five members—including the three members of the Yerkir Tsirani faction and Deputy Mayor Kamo Areyan, who was chairing—were in attendance to this session.
Pursuant to the rules, if the session is not convened, a snap Yerevan Council of Elders’ election shall be conducted.