A key ally of President Serzh Sarkisian was officially reinstalled as mayor of Yerevan on Monday as the city’s newly elected municipal legislature held its first session boycotted by the Armenian opposition.
The Council of Elders convened two days after Armenia’s Central Election Commission (CEC) released the final results of the May 31 municipal elections that upheld the landslide victory of Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK).
According to the CEC, the HHK won 47.4 percent of the vote, giving it 35 of the 65 seats in the council. Under Armenian law, the top candidate of a party or bloc winning more than 40 percent of the vote shall automatically become mayor.
Astghik Gevorgian, the oldest member of the council who chaired its first meeting, cited this legal provision when she declared that Beglarian will be “deemed the elected mayor of Yerevan” from now on. Beglarian, who was appointed interim mayor by Sarkisian in March, will be formally inaugurated on Thursday.
The Council of Elders met in the conspicuous absence of its 13 members supposed to represent the main opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK). The official results showed the HAK getting only 17.6 percent of the vote and trailing not only the HHK but another pro-government party, Prosperous Armenia (BHK). The latter will control 17 seats in the assembly.
None of the six other parties that contested the May 31 polls cleared the 7 percent vote threshold for being represented in Yerevan’s first municipal assembly in 14 years. Among them were Orinats Yerkir, the third party represented in the Armenian government, and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). The latter quit the ruling coalition in late April.
Both Dashnaktsutyun and the HAK have refused to accept the election outcome, alleging widespread fraud. The HAK has been particularly vocal in condemning alleged vote rigging and demanding a re-run of the polls.
The CEC, which is dominated by government supporters, rejected the demand at a meeting on Saturday. “There are no grounds to declare the elections null and void,” said Garegin Azarian, the CEC chairman. The HAK is expected to challenge the decision in courts.
Two of the eight members of the CEC representing Dashnaktsutyun and another opposition force, the Zharangutyun party, refused to sign the final vote tally.
According to the CEC, the HHK won 47.4 percent of the vote, giving it 35 of the 65 seats in the council. Under Armenian law, the top candidate of a party or bloc winning more than 40 percent of the vote shall automatically become mayor.
Astghik Gevorgian, the oldest member of the council who chaired its first meeting, cited this legal provision when she declared that Beglarian will be “deemed the elected mayor of Yerevan” from now on. Beglarian, who was appointed interim mayor by Sarkisian in March, will be formally inaugurated on Thursday.
The Council of Elders met in the conspicuous absence of its 13 members supposed to represent the main opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK). The official results showed the HAK getting only 17.6 percent of the vote and trailing not only the HHK but another pro-government party, Prosperous Armenia (BHK). The latter will control 17 seats in the assembly.
None of the six other parties that contested the May 31 polls cleared the 7 percent vote threshold for being represented in Yerevan’s first municipal assembly in 14 years. Among them were Orinats Yerkir, the third party represented in the Armenian government, and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). The latter quit the ruling coalition in late April.
Both Dashnaktsutyun and the HAK have refused to accept the election outcome, alleging widespread fraud. The HAK has been particularly vocal in condemning alleged vote rigging and demanding a re-run of the polls.
The CEC, which is dominated by government supporters, rejected the demand at a meeting on Saturday. “There are no grounds to declare the elections null and void,” said Garegin Azarian, the CEC chairman. The HAK is expected to challenge the decision in courts.
Two of the eight members of the CEC representing Dashnaktsutyun and another opposition force, the Zharangutyun party, refused to sign the final vote tally.