Mamikon Aslanian, who ran Vanadzor until October, was arrested on December 15 ten days after a bloc led by him all but won a local election with about 39 percent of the vote. Aslanian is facing corruption charges rejected by him as politically motivated.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party finished second with 25 percent, the most serious of setbacks suffered by it in the local polls held in 36 communities across Armenia on December 5.
Three other parties fared much worse but still won seats in the local council empowered to appoint the next head of the municipality comprising Vanadzor and nearby villages. Another party, Bright Armenia (LHK), got 3.97 percent, narrowly failing to clear the 4 percent threshold to enter the council.
The LHK challenged the official election results in court, saying that irregularities and inaccuracies artificially reduced the number of votes garnered by it.
Armenia’s Administrative Court rejected the appeal earlier this week, paving the way for the Vanadzor council’s inaugural session scheduled for Friday.
The LHK asked the Court of Appeals to overturn the ruling. An Administrative Court judge responded by issuing an injunction that bans the council from meeting and electing the mayor pending a Court of Appeals verdict on the lawsuit.
The injunction was made public just minutes before the start of the council’s session. It was condemned by members of Aslanian’s bloc and the opposition Hayrenik party allied to it.
Hayrenik’s local leader, Vahe Dokhoyan, accused the ruling party and the LHK of trying to steal their victory.
“Bright Armenia is assisting in the theft of our votes,” Dokholian told journalists. “This is the opinion of the vast majority of Vanadzor residents.”
The LHK, which was represented in Armenia’s former parliament but fared poorly in the June snap elections, denied cutting secret deals with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s party.
Aslanian’s bloc and Hayrenik will hold 15 and 2 seats respectively in the 33-member council, putting them in a position to install the head of a large community comprising Vanadzor and nearby villages in Armenia’s northern Lori province. However, the ex-mayor’s continuing detention deprives them of their razor-thin majority.
It was not clear whether Civil Contract, which will control 9 council seats, hopes to strike a deal with the two other parties to be represented in the council. Lori Governor Aram Khachatrian, who led the ruling party’s list of local election candidates, insisted on Friday that it has not yet nominated or endorsed any mayoral candidate.
Meanwhile, Aslanian urged Vanadzor factions to avoid “trampling electoral processes underfoot.” In a written appeal issued from jail, the ex-mayor said they must “make a choice stemming from the will of the people.”
Artur Sakunts, a human rights activist based in Vanadzor, last week described the criminal proceedings launched against the ex-mayor as “political persecution.” He said the Armenian authorities are trying to distort local election outcomes in these and other communities.
Armenia’s human rights ombudsman, Arman Tatoyan, likewise accused the authorities of resorting to arrests and intimidation to gain control of communities where the ruling party failed to win outright.
Pashinian’s political allies deny the accusations.