Ruben Vardanyan pointes out lessons taught by Yerevan Council of  Elders elections

ArmInfo. Yerevan residents made their choice yesterday.  This is how former state minister of  Artsakh, philanthropist Ruben Vardanyan commented on the results of the elections to the Council of Elders of Yerevan held on September 17.

At the same time, the politician believes that the main lesson of  these elections lies in the fact that it was not possible to ensure a  high level of participation and to bring to the polling stations  active, sensible masses of the public who believe in the possibility  of change, who would vote for the forces offering an alternative.

<Another important conclusion is that the current government does not  have public trust.  Even Pashinyan's participation in the rally in  support of his candidate did not force voters to go to the polling  stations, and "Civil Contract" failed, even in conditions of record  low participation, to receive a majority of votes from election  participants," Vardanyan noted.

According to him, this means that the current government not only  does not have the support of the majority of the public, but also the  actions of the authorities have forced the population to distance  themselves from politics, showing that they cannot trust them  protection of their rights and interests.

<It is in this regard that the current elections to the Council of  Elders of Yerevan are becoming a step that will lead to a change in  power and to profound changes. As for the participation of "Country  to Live" and the results of this participation, I think that it was a  good experience for the young party, which, I am sure, is not going  to retreat and will continue to work, because it believes and is  confident that it can change a lot and not only change, but also to  be at the core of these changes.  I am grateful to all those who  voted for "Country to Live" and in general for other healthy  opposition forces. We can say with confidence that this is a good  investment in the future," Vardanyan concluded.

The elections to the Council of Elders of Yerevan took place on  September 17. According to the voting results, the ruling Civil  Contract party and the leader of its list, Vice Mayor Tigran Avinyan,  are in the lead in the mayoral elections of the Armenian capital,  with 32.57% of votes. National Progress party, led by the former  mayor of Yerevan Hayk Marutyan,  is in the second place with 18.89%  of the votes. The "Mother Armenia" bloc, led by former MP Andranik  Tevanyan, closes the TOP-3. According to preliminary data, the bloc  receives 15.43% of the votes. The remaining political forces' votes  were distributed as follows:  "Public Voice" Party - 9.68% "Fair  Armenia" Party - 1.12% "Victory" Party - 1.71% "Uzh Hayrenyats" Party  - 0.74% European Party of Armenia - 1.11% "For Social Justice" Party  - 0.34% "Republic" Party - 11.32% "United Armenia" Party - 0.55%  "Bright Armenia" Party - 1.8% "Democratic Consolidation" Party " -  1.01% "Country to Live " Party- 3.64%. The Council of Elders of  Yerevan consists of 65 members and elects the mayor for a term of 5  years.