Pashinian Bloc Officially Declared Winner Of Yerevan Election

Armenia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) on Sunday formally certified the landslide victory of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s My Step alliance in the September 23 municipal elections in Yerevan.

According to the final election results, My Step won about 80 percent of the vote and will control 57 of the 65 seats in the city council.

Under Armenian law, this also means that the bloc’s top election candidate, Hayk Marutian, was automatically elected Yerevan’s new mayor. He will be sworn in on October 10.

Businessman Gagik Tsarukian’s Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK), which came in a distant second with just 7 percent, will have 5 council seats. The remaining 3 seats were given to the Luys alliance.

Both the BHK and Luys are part of Pashinian’s de facto coalition government.

Nine other parties and blocs also took part in the elections. They all got less than 2 percent of the vote. Voter turnout stood about 44 percent, according to the CEC.

In sharp contrast to just about every major Armenian election held in the past, the Yerevan polls were not marred by reports of serious fraud. And virtually all contenders accepted their official results.

The CEC chairman, Tigran Mukuchian, said the commission has received no demands to fully or partly invalidate the vote results from any of the 12 parties and blocs. They have alleged no serious irregularities, he said. Nor have they filed any election-related lawsuits, added Mukuchian.

Pashinian actively participated in the election campaign, portraying the mayoral race as a referendum on confidence in his government. Citing his bloc’s landslide victory, the popular premier said on September 24 that he now has a fresh mandate to push for snap general elections in the country. Such a vote is seen as vital for his political future.

Marutian, the incoming Yerevan mayor, is a 41-year-old actor famous for his performances in popular comedy shows aired by Armenian TV channels. He has also produced his own shows and films in the past several years.

Better known as “Kargin Hayko,” Marutian actively participated in Pashinian-led mass protests in April and May that brought down Armenia’s former government.