On April 15, President of the Union of Armenians of Russia (UAR) Ara Abrahamyan made a statement in support of Taron Margaryan candidature to the post of the Yerevan mayor. UAR applied to the Union of Armenians of Lithuania suggesting it to follow their example and support Taron Margaryan. The Union of Armenians of Lithuania (UAL) convened on April 22 in Vilnius and adopted a decision to decline the UAR's suggestion, says the statement of the UAL Coordinator Council provided to ArmInfo.
Expressing deep respect for the memory of the former prime minister of Armenia Andranik Margaryan, the father of Taron Margaryan, UAL states that supporting any candidate to any position in the Republic of Armenia is immoral, as it is interference into internal affairs of the country, especially that the citizens of Armenia living in the territory of Lithuania and in any other country, except diplomats, have no right to vote in the elections in Armenia.
"We do not want to condemn the decisions of the UAR or the president of the World Armenian Congress, but we consider such statements inadmissible. We think that the population of Yerevan and Armenia, in general, are free to decide who to vote for. If people protest against something, it means that they have relevant reasons. The Armenian organizations abroad should not interfere in this process. The Union of Armenians of Lithuania will further support the Armenian people and act in favor of Armenia," the statement reads.
To recall, March 21 was deadline for registration of political forces and their candidates for the May 5 elections to the Elders' Council of Yerevan. Six parties and a union have submitted their party lists to run to the Elders' Council of Yerevan: Republican Party of Armenia, Prosperous Party of Armenia, Orinats Yerkir, Armenian National Congress, Mission, ARF Dashnaktsutyun, and "Barev Yerevan" Union. Political parties will fight for 65 seats at the Elders' Council. The latter, in turn, will elected the mayor. The election campaign started on April 7. The elections will be held on May 5. May
4 is a say of "silence" when campaign is prohibited. By preliminary data, 261 observers will be following the elections. Sociologists anticipate some 45% turnout.