Mother Armenia and Ruben Mkhitaryan express willingness to transfer votes to Gyumri’s leading opposition candidate.

Following the vote count in Gyumri’s snap city council elections, the Mother Armenia party reaffirmed its readiness to support the opposition candidate who secured the most votes. Speaking at an urgent press conference, party representatives declared their intent to contribute their votes to that candidate, reports Panorama.am .

According to preliminary unofficial results, the council seats are likely to be distributed as follows: the Civil Contract party, led by Sariк Minasyan, received 14 seats; the Armenian Communist Party, led by Vardan Ghukasyan, secured 8; the Our City party, headed by Martun Grigoryan, obtained 6; the My Powerful Community alliance, under Ruben Mkhitaryan, won 3; and Mother Armenia, led by Karen Simonyan, gained 2 seats.

Final seat allocations may change after redistribution of votes from parties that did not cross the electoral threshold.

Ruben Mkhitaryan, mayoral candidate for My Powerful Community in Gyumri, also stated that he is fully ready to support Vardan Ghukasyan—the opposition candidate who received the most votes. He posted on Facebook:

“Dear Gyumri residents, thank you for standing by me during this crucial stage. Every vote I received from you is priceless. I am ready, along with our council members, without any preconditions or aspirations for office, to vote in favor of Vardan Ghukasyan, the opposition mayoral candidate who received the most support from Gyumri voters. When I entered the race, I promised that if I did not win, I would back the opposition candidate who earned the most votes. I am proud to have played a role in preventing the ruling force from winning in Gyumri. I believe this marks the beginning of their decline.”

The Central Electoral Commission has summarized the preliminary results of the March 30 local snap elections, indicating that no party secured a majority in Gyumri. Forming coalitions will be necessary to elect the community leader. Should opposition parties unite, Gyumri could elect an opposition mayor.

In Parakar, four political forces competed: Civil Contract (Ludvig Gyulnazaryan), Unity alliance (Vоlodya Grigoryan), National Progress Party (David Minasyan), and Stability Party (Gor Saribekyan). The Unity alliance, which includes the Country to Live party, announced Vоlodya Grigoryan’s victory.