Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party and its two main allies will compete with each other in upcoming municipal elections in Yerevan, raising more questions about the future of their Yelk alliance.
Justice Minister Artak Zeynalian confirmed on Tuesday that Civil Contract and the Republic and Bright Armenia parties have failed to nominate a single candidate for the vacant post of Yerevan’s mayor. Republic and Bright Armenia have decided to form a new bloc for the snap elections scheduled for September 23, Zeynalian said, adding that he will be its mayoral candidate.
“I have agreed to head the electoral list of the alliance to be formed by the Republic and Bright Armenia parties,” he told reporters. He said he will take a leave of absence when campaigning for the Yerevan elections officially starts in early September.
Armenia - Artak Zeynalian of the opposition Yelk bloc at a parliament session in Yerevan, 12Dec2017.
The three parties set up Yelk ahead of Armenia’s last parliamentary elections held in April 2017. Their bloc finished third in the polls, winning 9 seats in the 105-member National Assembly.
Republic and Bright Armenia refused to back Pashinian when he launched in April this year mass protests against outgoing President Serzh Sarkisian’s bid to extend his rule. The protests rapidly gained momentum, forcing Sarkisian to step down and catapulting Pashinian into power.
Despite the rift, Pashinian gave his Yelk partners two ministerial posts in his cabinet formed in May. Still, Civil Contract subsequently decided to field its own mayoral candidate.
Asked whether this heralds Yelk’s demise, Zeynalian, who is affiliated with Republic, said: “The Yelk alliance has a faction in the National Assembly which will operate until the National Assembly is dissolved. Yelk is the current government’s political support base and is also represented in the government.”
“We are going to make Armenia a truly democratic and rule-of-law country and this is one of the steps along that path,” added the minister.
Pashinian plans to force fresh parliamentary elections before June next year. His party has yet to decide whether to preserve Yelk or participate in the vote on its own.