Naira Zohrabyan’s ‘Friendly Advice’ to HHK Incumbent Defeated in Ijevan Elections

Prosperous Armenia MP Naira Zohrabyan (pictured) advised the former mayor of Ijevan (a Republican Party of Armenia member) not to speak of buying votes as it’s not based on his interests. Zohrabyan said this herself in parliament today, adding that if Ijevan’s former mayor continues to speak of vote buying, then worse might be said about him.

Recall, incumbent Varuzhan Nersisyan lost to the Prosperous Armenia candidate, Vardan Ghalumyan in the Nov. 13 mayoral elections in the northeastern Armenian city of Ijevan.

Zohrabyan also commented on a recent statement by head of Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) parliamentary faction Galust Sahakyan in which the latter, asked about the results of the Ijevan elections possible replaying on a national level, said (not in so many words), “God forbid, such a thing were to happen.”

“As for Galust Sahakyan’s statements, all the forecasts, one thing is clear: the outcome of any election is decided by the people’s vote,” she said.

HHK MP Artak Zakaryan, also weighing in on the elections in Ijevan, said the consequences and issues were discussed and assessed at the HHK executive meeting yesterday — with the consideration of taking them into account later.

“I am not aware of the flaws or problems in detail. But there has to be some follow-up, in provincial, regional bodies, to find the motives which were the reason of the HHK candidate’s defeat. This is an issue relating to the local self-government system; we shouldn’t view this issue through a political lens; and this is a direct proposal by the party’s executive body to regional bodies to pay attention to this issue,” he said.