ArmInfo. I do not intend to combine the position of the Minister of Justice with the status of candidate for mayor of Yerevan, Justice Minister Artak Zeynalyan stated on August 21, at the press conference dedicated to 100 days of work of the new government.
Zeynalyan stated that he, as the Minister of Justice, will file a vacation application and, as a candidate, will participate in elections to the Council of Elders of Yerevan. "I will participate in the elections from the bloc of " Enlightened Armenia "and the "Republic" parties. "The" Civil Contract "party will nominate its own candidate at the elections, our bloc does not have a name yet, but we are now dealing with this issue," the Minister said.
Zeynalyan said that the fact that the "Enlightened Armenia" and "Republic" parties will participate separately, without the "Civil Contract" party, does not mean that the "Yelk" faction, which is common to all, will cease to exist. "Yelk" Faction is represented in the Parliament, besides, "Yelk" continues to be the basis of the new government of Armenia," Zeynalyan concluded.
To note, the elections to the Council of Elders of Yerevan are scheduled for September 23, 2018. The "Enlightened Armenia" and "Republic" parties belonging to the "Yelk" faction will take part in the elections as a single bloc, and Nikol Pashinyan's "Civil Contract" will come up with its own candidate. The "Enlightened Armenia" and "Republic" parties propose the candidature of the Minister of Justice Artak Zeynalyan, and the "Civil Contract" part nominated actor Hayk Marutyan. To recall, the former mayor of Yerevan, "Republican" Taron Margaryan, who held this post since 2011, announced the resignation on July 9. Zaruhi Postanjyan (leader of the Yerkir Tsirani party), Ararat Zurabyan ("Armenian National Movement") will also participate in the upcoming early elections to the Council of Elders of Yerevan in September of this year. The daughter of the prominent Armenian architect Artur Tarkhanyan, wife of the political prisoner recently released and convicted by the former authorities for organizing riots, Andreas Ghoukasyan - Anahit Tarkhanyan (GALA party) also expressed a desire to run in elections.
The Central Election Commission of Armenia has appointed early elections to the Council of Elders of Yerevan on September 23.
The election campaign will begin on September 10.