Ruling party MP: Gyumri needs early elections to Council of Elders

ArmInfo.Early elections to the Council of Elders are needed in Gyumri, Armenia's second largest and most important city. Alkhas Ghazaryan, a member of the RA National Assembly from the ruling Civil Contract party, told reporters on June  10.

Gyumri is in the midst of an acute political crisis following the  arrest of Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan on charges of corruption and  plotting a power grab. The ruling party is boycotting the Council of  Elders, and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is declaring the need for  early municipal elections in the city.

According to the MP, legal proceedings are underway, but the city is  in a dismal state. Very little work has been done in Gyumri in recent  years. The solution to the problem is seen in holding early elections  and increasing co-financing for development programs. The MP noted  that the city faces the challenge of rapid recovery, and this  requires new leadership that must work hard to address the emerging  problem. The previous leadership, the MP emphasized, did virtually  nothing, did not accept the authorities' proposals, and, in essence,  the city was paralyzed.

A day earlier, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that  what he saw during his visit to Gyumri, in particular the state of  courtyards and streets in some neighborhoods, was unexpected and even  shocking. During a meeting with members of the executive branch, the  prime minister touched on Gyumri's infrastructure problems and the  need to address them. 

"What I saw in the neighborhoods of Gyumri, frankly, was unexpected  and, to some extent, even shocking.  I couldn't imagine that in a  country where I am prime minister, particularly in the 58th  neighborhood, there could be courtyards and streets in such a  shameful state," Pashinyan said. He added that the government must  take steps to address the existing problems as quickly as possible.  "We must find ways to take swift action there, even bypassing local  government bodies if necessary," the prime minister noted, recalling  that he had previously stated the need to hold snap elections in  Gyumri as soon as possible.