OPPOSITION ANNOYED BUT QUIET AFTER GOVERNMENTAL VICTORY IN ARMENIAN CAPITAL’S LOCAL ELECTION
Natalia Leshchenko
World Market Research Centre
Global Insight
June 3, 2009
Armenia’s ruling Republican party claimed victory in a landmark
election for the council and position of mayor of Armenia’s capital,
Yerevan, on 31 May. The Central Election Commission’s final count gave
the Republicans 47.4 % of the vote, another 22.7% to the Republicans’
ally Prosperous Armenia, with the opposition Armenian National Congress
scraping only 17.4% of the vote. This means that the Republicans will
be able to install their top candidate Gagik Beglarian as Yerevans’
mayor. International observers recognised the result, saying it was
an improvement on the previous popular ballots, although domestic
observer organisations cried foul, mentioning systemic irregularities,
ballot-box stuffing, and widespread fraud. The leader of the opposition
National Congress and mayoral candidate Levon Ter-Petrosyan deplored
the election procedures and results, announcing that his party will
renounce its 13 seats in the city council.
Significance:The government can breathe a sigh of relief, as their
fears of the opposition taking people into the streets have not
materialised following the election results announcement. Despite
the many reports of voting irregularities, and some palpable
dissatisfaction with the official results on the ground, these are
not likely to have significant implications for the authorities, and
are likely to quickly dissipate. With the mayoral election past them,
and Ter-Petrosyan’s opposition weakened by defeat, the government will
now look to nationalist conservative sources as the main opponent to
deal with in their effort to rebuild ties with Turkey and Azerbaijan.