Yerevan City Council The Yerevan City Council () is the lawmaking body of the city of Yerevan, the capital and largest city of Armenia. It has 65 members elected by Party-list proportional representation system, headed by the Mayor of Yerevan. The Council serves as a ...

election was held on May 5, 2013. The

Republican Party of Armenia The Republican Party of Armenia (RPA, hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետական Կուսակցություն, ՀՀԿ; ''Hayastani Hanrapetakan Kusaktsutyun'', ''HHK'') is a national-conservative political party in Armenia led by the thir ...

won 56% of the total vote,

Prosperous Armenia Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP; hy, Բարգավաճ Հայաստան կուսակցություն, Bargavatch Hayastan kusaktsut’yun, abbreviated as ԲՀԿ BHK), is a conservative political party in Armenia. It was founded by businessman Gagik ...

had 23%, while Barev Yerevan won over 8%. The opposition parties and the local observers denounced the elections as "unfair".

Background

The first Yerevan City Council election was held on 31 May 2009. The

, which has been the ruling party in Armenia since 1999 won a majority in the legislature of Armenia's capital. A disputed

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

was held in Armenia on 18 February 2013. Since 19 February,

Raffi Hovannisian Raffi K. Richardi Hovannisian ( hy, Րաֆֆի Կ. Ռիչարդի Հովհաննիսյան; hyw, Րաֆֆի Կ. Ռիչարդի Յովհաննէսեան; born 20 November 1959) is an Armenian politician, the first Foreign Minister of Armenia and t ...

, the runner-up of the election from the

Heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...

party claimed victory due to alleged electoral fraud that took place the day before. On 10 March 2013, after weeks of mass protests, Hovannisian announced about his decision to start a hunger strike calling incumbent and officially elected President

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...

to resign before 9 April, the inauguration day and find a "solution of this unprecedented pan-national fundamental issue before April 9." On 15 March 2013, Hovannisian talking about his future plans while on hunger strike in the Freedom Square, stated that "Heritage Party will present its list next week: a man of the people will be the mayor of Yerevan. Yerevan will be returned to the people." As the election day came closer, tensions between two former coalition members, PAP and RPA, grew, particularly on "young wings" level. A similar situation was witnessed prior to the 2012 parliamentary election.

Parties

Seven parties were registered: *

—

Taron Margaryan Taron Andraniki Margaryan ( arm, Տարոն Անդրանիկի Մարգարյան, born 17 April 1978, Yerevan) is a politician from Armenia. He was the 11th mayor of Yerevan from 2011 to 2018. Head of community and early career From 2001 to 2 ...

* Barev Yerevan (Hello Yerevan)— Armen Martirosyan (from

) *

Armenian National Congress The Armenian National Congress ( hy, italic=yes, Հայ Ազգային Կոնգրես, translit=Hay Azgayin Kongres) is an Armenian political party led by former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan and formed in 2008. Its direct predecessor was the Pa ...

—

Vahagn Khachatryan Vahagn Garniki Khachaturyan ( hy, Վահագն Գառնիկի Խաչատուրյան, ; born 22 April 1959) is an Armenian politician who is the 5th and current president of Armenia. He served as Mayor of Yerevan from 1992 to 1996 and as the Mini ...

—

Vartan Oskanian Vartan Minasi Oskanian ( hy, Վարդան Մինասի Օսկանյան; born February 7, 1954) is the former Foreign Minister of Armenia (1998–2008) and founder of the Civilitas Foundation. Early life and career Born into a wealthy Armenian ...

Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( hy, Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն, ՀՅԴ ( classical spelling), abbr. ARF or ARF-D) also known as Dashnaktsutyun (collectively referred to as Dashnaks for short), is an Armenian ...

—

Armen Rustamyan Armen Rustamyan ( hy, Արմեն Ռուստամյան; born March 1, 1960) is an Armenian politician from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. He is a deputy in the National Assembly of Armenia The National Assembly of Armenia ( hy, Հ� ...

Rule of Law The rule of law is the political philosophy that all citizens and institutions within a country, state, or community are accountable to the same laws, including lawmakers and leaders. The rule of law is defined in the ''Encyclopedia Britannica ...

— Armen Yeritsyan *

Mission Party The Mission Party ( hy, Առաքելություն կուսակցություն, translit=Arrak’elut’yun kusakts’ut’yun) was an Armenian political party founded on 2 February 2013. In August 2021, the party announced its decision to merge ...

— Mesrop Arakelyan

Campaign

The election campaign started on 7 April 2013.

who disputes the 18 February presidential election and planned to hold an unofficial inauguration at the same time as officially elected President

Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...

on 9 April, joined Barev Yerevan alliance's first-day campaign with tree planting in central Yerevan. Barev Yerevan is made up of mostly his

party members and activists, in addition to a few members from the

Democratic Way Party The Democratic Way Party ( hy, Ժողովրդավարական ուղի կուսակցություն, translit=Zhoghovrdavarakan ughi kusakts’ut’yun), also known as the People's Way party, is a political party in Armenia. It is led by Manuel G ...

. All opposition parties including

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...

ARF ARF may refer to: Organizations * Advertising Research Foundation * Animal Rescue Foundation * Armenian Revolutionary Federation * ASEAN Regional Forum People * Cahit Arf (1910–1997), Turkish mathematician Science, medicine, and mathematics * ...

and

denounced the voting lists, claiming that the Republican Party registers people from outside of Yerevan. The ANC representatives claimed that the "Republicans, using their levers of state power, in this case the passport and visa department, are engaged in voter list trickery." On April 22, 2013, several ANC youth members were beaten up in

Ajapnyak Ajapnyak ( hy, Աջափնյակ վարչական շրջան, translit=Ajapnyak varčakan šrĵan), is one of the 12 districts of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. Located to the northwest of the city centre, Ajapnyak has common borders with the d ...

Election and oversight

According to the Central Election Commission, over 1,700 observers (local and international) were registered for monitoring the election. For the first time, over 100 diaspora Armenians will be observing the elections. "Under the election law that pertains to the Yerevan municipal vote, a political party, or a bloc of parties, that manages to receive more than 40 percent of the vote will automatically have its top candidate installed as mayor. If neither party or bloc can get that majority, the decision will be collectively upon the newly elected Council of Elders."

Results

, -style="background:#E9E9E9;" , colspan=2 style="text-align:center;" , Party , style="text-align:center;" , Votes , style="text-align:center;" , % , style="text-align:center;" , Seats , style="text-align:center;" , +/– , - , , style="text-align:center;" , 235,512 , style="text-align:center;" , 55.89% , style="text-align:center;" , 42 , style="text-align:left;" , 7 , - , , style="text-align:center;" , 97,189 , style="text-align:center;" , 23.07% , style="text-align:center;" , 17 , style="text-align:left;" , 0 , - , , style="text-align:center;" , 35,732 , style="text-align:center;" , 8.48% , style="text-align:center;" , 6 , style="text-align:left;" , 6 , - , , style="text-align:center;" , 18,499 , style="text-align:center;" , 4.39% , style="text-align:center;" , 0 , style="text-align:left;" , 13 , - , , style="text-align:center;" , 15,999 , style="text-align:center;" , 3.80% , style="text-align:center;" , 0 , style="text-align:left;" , 0 , - , , style="text-align:center;" , 15,733 , style="text-align:center;" , 3.73% , style="text-align:center;" , 0 , style="text-align:left;" , 0 , - , , style="text-align:center;" , 2,692 , style="text-align:center;" , 0.64% , style="text-align:center;" , 0 , style="text-align:left;" , 0 , - , - , colspan=2 , Invalid votes , style="text-align:center;" , 15,250 , style="text-align:center;" , — , style="text-align:center;" , — , style="text-align:center;" , — , - ! colspan=2 , Total , style="text-align:center;" , 437,212 , style="text-align:center;" , 100.00% , style="text-align:center;" , 65 , style="text-align:center;" , — , - ! colspan=2 , Electorate and turnout: , style="text-align:center;" , 816,478 , style="text-align:center;" , 53.53% , style="text-align:center;" , — , style="text-align:center;" , — , - , style="text-align:left;" colspan=6 , Source
Central Electoral Commission of Armenia
/small>

Claims of violations and irregularities

According to the Armenian service of

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

, "groups of pro-government youths standing in or outside polling stations, keeping a watchful eye on voters and clearly influencing the process have been a fixture in Armenian elections." Throughout the election day, the opposition parties accused the ruling Republican party for alleged electoral violations. Most local observation mission also stated the elections were not fair.

Reaction

Domestic

The results of the election were denounced by the main opposition parties. * Barev Yerevan:

stated on 9 May 2013 that everybody was defeated on 5 May election to the Yerevan city council. *

: ANC leader and Armenia's former President

Levon Ter-Petrosyan Levon Hakobi Ter-Petrosyan ( hy, Լևոն Հակոբի Տեր-Պետրոսյան; born 9 January 1945), also known by his initials LTP, is an Armenian politician who served as the first president of Armenia from 1991 until his resignation in 1998 ...

stated the election was marred with "disgraceful irregularities". The ANC statement said the election was "another crime by the ruling regime against democracy and the people of Armenia." *

: PPA thanked everyone who voted for them and claimed that the "electoral mechanisms" should change in Armenia. *

: RoL, which is the junior partner of the Republican Party in the government coalition, congratulated the RPA, PPA and Barev Yerevan for winning seats to the city council.

International

The

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities is the pan-European political assembly representing local and regional authorities from the forty-six member states of the Council of Europe. Its role is to promote local and regional democracy, imp ...

Election Observation Mission, the only international observation mission, led by

Stewart Dickson Stewart Dickson (born 8 December 1950) is an Alliance Party of Northern Ireland politician who has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Antrim since 2011. Political career Councillor (1977-1981, 1985-2011) Dickso ...

stated that the "secrecy of ballot was respected in great part."

References

{{Armenian elections Yerevan City Council election 2013 Yerevan City Council 2013 elections in Europe City council elections May 2013 events in Europe 21st century in Yerevan