“Zhamanak” reports that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s Civil Contract party has teamed up with his other supporters to run in next month’s municipal elections in Yerevan. The paper notes that it will be the first ballot held after the recent “velvet revolution” in Armenia and it could prove the most democratic in the country’s history. It says at the same time that with Pashinian remaining very popular the elections will hardly be competitive.
“Zhoghovurd” says that Vahram Baghdasarian, a senior lawmaker from the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), was right to say on Wednesday that the HHK would not have avoided mass anti-government protests last spring even if it had not installed Serzh Sarkisian as prime minister. The paper says that the HHK had long retained power through vote rigging and repression. “So it is natural that anyone nominated by the HHK for the post of prime minister would have met with public resistance,” it says.
“Aravot” reports that residents of seven villages in northwestern Armenia blocked a major highway to protest against their incorporation into a single community. “This is a highly sensitive issue,” writes the paper. “Many arguments are made for and against such a [community] consolidation. It is hard to tell whether not the protesters’ demands are justified.” The paper complains about offensive comments on social media about the protests.
(Tigran Avetisian)
Facebook Forum