GYUMRI. – Mayor Samvel Balasanyan of Armenia’s City of Gyumri, who is also Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) member, will support presidential candidate—and incumbent President and ruling Republican Party leader—Serzh Sargsyan in the February 18 presidential election, the mayor’s press secretary Zohrap Yeganyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.   

He added that Balasanyan had informed about this during his press conference that was held in connection with the completion of the one-hundred days of his term in office as Gyumri mayor.   

“To make that decision more bona fide, Mr. Mayor will soon make a respective statement,” Yeganyan said.

In response to the query as to the position of PAP—which had decided not to run and, also, not to support any candidate in the forthcoming election—on Samvel Balasanyan’s aforesaid decision, the press secretary noted that a contradiction should not be sought in this respect.  

“Mr. Balasanyan invited today’s [press] conference as a mayor, and he makes speeches as a mayor; there is no contradiction here,” Zohrap Yeganyan concluded.