The voter turnout in the local self-government elections held in Armenia’s second and third largest cities and several regions on Sunday, 9 September was 49.52%.According to the Armenian Central Elections Commission, a total of 479, 625 voters cast their votes. The lowest turnout – 15.01% – was recorded in Gai community (Armavir region) where only 418 out of the 2,718 registered voters took part in the voting. The most active voters were in Aravus village that saw a 93.81% turnout. Elections of heads of communities, and members of Council of Elders were held in 97 communities of Ararat and Armavir, 113 communities of Lori, 119 of Shirak, 109 communities of Syunik provinces. 129 candidates were registered in Ararat, 103 in Armavir, 166 in Lori, 174 in Lori and 144 in Syunik.

289 of the candidates were non-party, 342 were members of the Republican party; Forty-eight candidates running for heads of communities are Prosperous Armenia party members, 20 are from Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun, 12 Rule of Law party members. Heritage party, Ramkavar Azatakan, National Democratic Union, Democratic Homeland have joint candidates. Non-party candidates competed for mayor’s post in Etchmiadzin. One of them is acting mayor Karen Grigoryan and the other candidate is Armine Hovhannissyan.

In Kapan Republican party member Ashot Hayrapetyan forced the incumbent, ARF-D member Artur Atayan to withdraw his nomination.

The most important election was that for mayor of the city of Gyumri, Armenia’s second largest city. The incumbent Vardan Ghukasyan did not contest. The election was won by Samvel Balsanayan, a candidate of the Prosperous Armenia Party, who however had also the support of the ruling party, the Republican Party. The position was also contested by a representative of the Dashnak Party (ARF-D) Hovsep Simonyan.

The Central Electoral Commission’s website has posted the preliminary results, according to which 46,093 of the 125,657 eligible voters cast their ballots in the city.

As a result, mayoral candidates Andranik Avetisyan, Spartak Petrosyan, Hovsep Simonyan and Samvel Balasanyan received 2,458, 2,130, 10,281 and 27,500 votes in that order. 3,359 ballots were declared invalid.

source: CEW with news.am and tert.am