YEREVAN. – Zhoghovurd newspaper of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: Today, the Yerevan Council of Elders will discuss the no-confidence motion against Mayor Hayk Marutyan. The initiator is the [ruling majority] "My Step" Faction of the Council of Elders. The authorities want to replace Marutyan with Deputy Mayor Hrachya Sargsyan, as Marutyan met with RA second President Robert Kocharyan and "fell into a bad circle."

In parallel with the process of no-confidence motion against Hayk Marutyan, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had recently met with the “My Step” Faction of the Council of Elders at the head office of the [country’s ruling] Civil Contract Party.

Zhoghovurd daily learned that the closed-door meeting was quite heated. According to the information we received, the first matter was what mechanisms are needed to "say goodbye" to Marutyan smoothly, without a shock.

Then the matter of finding a replacement for Marutyan was discussed. Pashinyan tended to entrust the mayor's seat to Council of Elders member Armen Kotolyan; the other Council of Elders members, however, spoke out against his candidacy. Not wanting to insult and offend him [i.e., Pashinyan], they nonetheless noted that Kotolyan is young, whereas someone more experienced is needed for that position. In the end, Pashinyan made a concession, and the “My Step” [faction members] nominated Sargsyan.

The most heated discussion took place on the matter that all those who dare to oppose the demand for ousting Marutyan should resign from their mandate and not leave the faction.

The members of the ruling wing of the Council of Elders unanimously agreed that Prime Minister Pashinyan should know from now on first hand what is happening in the city hall; in other words, everyone should be accountable to Pashinyan, report about everything to him.

They agreed so, and today is a decisive day. The political repressions against the mayor of Yerevan will have a concrete manifestation today. The members of the Council of Elders hall vote against Mayor Hayk Marutyan in a closed-secret format.