YEREVAN. – The Civilitas Foundation on Tuesday convened a debate among the individuals that head the proportional lists of Armenia’s political forces which are running in the forthcoming capital city Yerevan Council election. 

But representatives from the interim coalition government’s senior member, Republican Party (RPA), and the junior partner, Orinats Yerkir (Rule of Law) Party (RLP), did not attend the event. As a result, mayoral candidates from the Arakelutyun (Mission) Party, non-government Prosperous Armenia Party, opposition Heritage Party-led “Barev [Hello], Yerevan” bloc, opposition Armenian National Congress Party, and opposition ARF Dashnaktsutyun Party debated (PHOTOS).   

During the event, the participants discussed several matters that concern Yerevan residents and offered solution alternatives. But they also agreed on a number of issues. Specifically, they concurred that all problems can be solved if there is a political will and authorities that are formed by the people.

The discussants, however, seemed unsurprised by the absence of the RPA and the RLP mayoral candidates from this debate. “Barev Yerevan” bloc’s mayoral candidate Armen Martirosyan noted that the present-day authorities could not have attended this event because they had nothing to present. In his turn, ARF Dashnaktsutyun’s mayoral candidate, Armen Rustamyan, noted that the ruling coalition forces’ absence from this debate is a signal that they to not intend to be reelected, but rather to be reproduced, and therefore they do not have an agenda of presenting themselves to and convincing the voters.   

RLP MP Hovhannes Margaryan, however, arrived twenty minutes before the end of the debate, and informed that acting Emergency Situations Minister Armen Yeritsyan, who is RLP’s mayoral candidate, was at a meeting at the moment. Margaryan added that they share the concerns that were voiced and are prepared to get involved with their experienced and strong team.     

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am