Zinker: Elections to Council of Elders of Yerevan is a referendum of  confidence to Pashinyan

ArmInfo. Elections to the  Council of Elders of Yerevan were both unique and boring. Such an  opinion was expressed on September 24 at the press conference in  Yerevan by the President of the International Center for the Study of  Electoral Systems, political scientist Alexander Zinker.

According to him, the uniqueness of these elections is that, firstly,  these were the first elections in the country after the change of  power and aroused great interest. According to him, it was strange  that none of the international structures came to watch them, and  expressed the belief that they lost a lot. "Secondly, most of the  candidates submitted never took part in the process of governing the  city, there were no representatives of the current authorities among  them, and they did not negatively affect this process.  Moreover, the  program of all candidates was similar and positive, but their  excessive politicization, especially in the confrontation of the bloc  My step and the party Prosperous Armenia. Third, there was a very  short election campaign that did not allow equalizing the  possibilities of all forces. Those who were only being created could  not it is difficult to do, as it is difficult to do in 12 days. It  should also pay tribute to the actions of the CEC of Armenia, which  worked smoothly.If we consider that the majority of the CEC members  were representatives of the Republican Party, sabotage could take  place, but this did not happen " , - the expert said.

The fourth criterion of the uniqueness of these elections, according  to Zinker, is their calm move.  According to him, there were very few  voluntary observers from the political forces at the elections, which  indicates either their predetermination or lack of resources from  many forces.

The expert named the trust factor in the results of the elections as  the fifth factor. "Sixth is a low turnout, although municipal  elections are always different in that fewer people participate in  them than in elections of national importance." I think that  sociologists and political scientists should investigate why such a  low turnout was due to the convincing leadership of one of the  political The election of the Council of Elders of Yerevan is a  referendum of confidence to the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol  Pashinyan, and moreover, many citizens thought that Pashinyan is a  candidate for mayors.This election is a great victory and a serious  response as discontent over the mistakes of the mayor and his team  will be sent to Pashinyan, citizens will demand it, "Zinker said.

As omissions, the expert described inaccuracies in the electoral  lists, problems with access to the polling stations of persons with  disabilities. At the same time, he praised the new electronic system  of citizens identification, which, in his estimation, worked smoothly  throughout the day.