YEREVAN. – Hraparak daily of Armenia writes: Although 43 out of 65 members of the [Yerevan] Council of Elders had joined the draft to express no confidence in [Mayor] Hayk Marutyan yesterday, according to sources close to Marutyan, he is quite calm and believes that as a result of the [respective] secret ballot, the majority [of the council members] will not vote in favor, and [PM Nikol] Pashinyan's initiative will fail.

He believes that many [of the council members] have signed [the aforesaid draft] in fear of Pashinyan, and even if some people are against his stay [as mayor], they are even more against first deputy mayor Hrachya Sargsyan becoming mayor.

Now Marutyan is negotiating with the members of the Council of Elders so that they will not obey Pashinyan's will during the secret ballot. Especially if the initiative to express no confidence in him fails, then the Council of Elders, according to the law, will be deprived of the right to come up with such an initiative for a year.

However, the [ruling] CC [(Civil Contract party)] members are sure [that] if Pashinyan has set a goal to get rid of Marutyan at any cost, he will instruct to falsify the ballots, as he forces to do during the NA [(National Assembly)] closed voting, and to present [it] as a proof of loyalty [to him].