Preliminary elections will take place December 8-10 in Gyumri to determine the candidate for acting mayor, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said.
Gyumri has been left without a city administration following resignations in the city council. Parliament can grant the Prime Minister the authority to appoint an interim mayor until new city elections.
Pashinyan said on Wednesday that he won’t make a one-man decision on the matter. PM Pashinyan said on social media that the purpose of the preliminary elections is to resolve the current administration crisis in Gyumri.
“Experts say it’s not going to be possible to overcome the administration crisis in Gyumri without the prime minister’s intervention, and the intervention will be the following: As a result of the adoption of an upcoming legislation I will have to appoint an acting mayor in Gyumri. Having discussed this with the Civil Contract Party Board, I concluded that the appointment shall not be done by a one-man administrative decision. That’s why a preliminary election, which is usually called primaries internationally, will be held in Gyumri soon,” Pashinyan said.
Pashinyan said the Civil Contract party will ask its members and supporters to nominate or self-nominate candidates. Then, the party will hold preliminary elections among Gyumri residents on a random basis.
The winner will be appointed interim mayor, who will most probably be the Civil Contract’s candidate for mayor in the next election.
