YEREVAN. – Solely the candidates of Armenia’s ruling coalition will wage a real battle for the position of capital city Yerevan Mayor. Hovhannes Shahinyan—who is second in the coalition government’s junior member, Orinats Yerkir (Rule of Law) Party (RLP) list for the Yerevan Council election—said this to news reporters on Tuesday.     

In his words, only the RLP list—led by Emergency Situations Minister Armen Yeritsyan—can truly compete against the ruling coalition’s senior partner, the Republican Party, and the serving Mayor, Taron Margaryan, for the mayoral post.  

“We are not battling against one another, but rather for our capital city, so we may carry out development programs,” Shahinyan said.   

To note, the Yerevan Council election is slated for May 5, and the participating political forces will vie for 65 Council seats. The parties’ respective lists will be registered until Sunday. The election campaign will kick off on April 7 and come to an end on May 3. The Yerevan Council election will be held with proportional lists only.