I am not a resident of Yerevan, and if I say that I support this or that mayoral candidate, people will misunderstand me and say “Is that even your business?”. If seriously, first of all, I believe that the Mayor of Yerevan should be elected through direct elections, party’s ideology does not play a significant role in this case. Second, according to the law, only a member of the City Council can be elected as Mayor, which means that many candidates are left out. The City Council has to find a legitimate way for self-dissolution and for holding new elections: let me repeat, preferably, separate mayoral election.
We are in a transitional stage both at the state and the capital level. Naturally, the Prime Minister of the state in this period must be the person who has made a revolution, and his team must be responsible for political and economic processes. (Whether why representatives of other political parties have entered the government without signing a coalition memorandum, is another matter). As for the mayor of Yerevan, there is no need for anyone to be “politically responsible” during the transition period: the city economy should be managed. This could be done by Taron Margaryan, may now be done by the Acting Mayor Kamo Areyan, and by any member of the City Council, regardless of party affiliation. It is important that the law enforcement bodies ensure that no corruption phenomena happen during that period.
Of course, I understand the absolutely healthy aspiration of the young revolutionaries to express themselves at the capital level and to take over another position. But haste and excessive enthusiasm can create problems, plus raise competition inside the revolutionary team. So, perhaps, we should think about the list and not the person yet.
The profession, diploma, management experience, etc. sometimes become a topic of discussion regarding mayor’s personality. Those are not a problem. Especially the “management experience”. Usually, it is the experience of taking bribes and of embezzlement. By the way, what happened to the British tips, based on which the transport network in the city was to improve? The tips cost 800 thousand euros.
Aram ABRAHAMYAN
