The cruelest fight in one of the enlarging villages of Shirak Province took place in Akhuryan. Here 6 candidates struggled for the position of the village governor – the long-term village governor of Akhuryan, ARF member Artsrun Igityan, the director of Akhuryan “Complex-sports school”, non-partisan Levon Geghamyan, the head of the polling place of the company of “Shirak” our users, Vanik Mkrtchyan who is the brother of the deputy-chief of investigation department of Shirak Province, Sahak Mkrtchyan’s brother, non-partisan shop owner Gerasim Hambaryan and Karen Sergoyan, who was nominated by the PPA and who is the master of gas office, as well as the governor of Basen village, RPA member Hamlet Petrosyan. The competition went on mainly between Akhuryan village governor, ARF member Artsrun Igityan and PPA candidate, Karen Sergoyan. Notwithstanding that Artsrun Igityan was self-nominated, he was supported by both the ARF and RPA.
31 candidates struggled for 15 seats of the Council of Elders. The elections were going on in a rather tense environment: crowds were waiting in front of all polling stations of Akhuryan, even cars did not have a place for parking, people are brought for electing in taxis, even elderly people with walking sticks were accompanied to the polling stations. So called conductors were standing in front of almost all polling stations, who accompanied, received and saw off the electors.
In a side of 32/1 polling station of Akhuryan Artsrun Igityan’s followers were gathered, and in the other side – the youth supporting the PPA candidate. This polling station differed from the others perhaps with the fact that here 2 elderly women were the “conductors”. One of them entered the polling station, but the president of the committee inviter her out, saying: “Have you not just voted? Go out!” When we tried to ask her why she entered the polling station for the second time, the woman threatened us: “Do not make a fake statement on me, if I see you taped me, I will take you to court, you do not know who I am.” And a woman standing beside her warned: “She went to bring someone to claim you have insulted her.” The lady did not leave the yard of the polling station, time to time leaving insulting expressions on the journalists. The woman accompanying her explained that she was waiting for the relatives to come to elect and then to leave together with them by taxi. When the journalists asked who were the people whom they brought to the polling station, the lady replied: “Who have we brought? We have not brought anyone. It is not by telling a lie, by defaming, I am standing far away.” Our question on in favor of which candidate the lady worked for, made her angry: “Girl, if you are not a candidate, why do you stand here? Have you come to tape me? I do not care. I have neither brought a man nor saw anyone off. Do not defame people. Let fair elections take place, it is a shame.”
The president of the committee explained the case of the lady entering for the second time as if she had entered the polling station with her friend to find out whether she was registered in that particular polling station or not.
In Akhuryan the journalists were hindered to carry out their professional duties by any means, even the district riffraff swore on the journalists, tried to close the camera of “Azatutyun” radio station.
Let us remind you that 8 villages of Akhuryan will unify (Akhuryan, Kaghnut, Hovit, Basen, Jrarat, Kamo, Arevik, Aygabac), with Akhuryan as the administrative center.
Nune AREVSHATYAN
