AS RESULT OF TWO STAGES, YEREVAN STATE UNIVERSITY RECTOR NOT ELECTED
YET

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, NOYAN TAPAN. The two stages of the elections of the
Yerevan State University Rector started on March 22 gave no result,
and those passed to the third stage. The four candidates presented
claims were from the University staff: Gegham Gevorgian, the
Mathematics Department Dean; Samvel Haroutiunian, the Physics
Department Dean; Aram Simonian, the YSU Pro-Rector on the Humanities,
and Gagik Ghazianian, the Law Department Dean. To recap, Aram Simonian
and Gegham Gevorgian aren’t the YSU Council members and have no right
to vote. After the first stage of the election, two of the candidates:
Samvel Haroutiunian and Gegham Gevorgian got correspondingly 4 and 16
votes and remained out of the further struggle. Two candidates, Aram
Simonian and Gagik Ghazinian, got more votes, correspondingly 21 and
28 ones, entered the second stage of the electoral struggle. According
to the regulations of the institution of higher education, the
candidate who will get 36+1 votes, may be elected the Rector. 70 of
the 72 members of the YSU Council participated in the election. Two
of them, NA Deputy Speaker Tigran Torosian and Oriental Studies
Department Dean Gurgen Melikian, are absent for valid reason. As a
result of a hot struggle promoted during the second stage, the YSU
Rector wasn’t elected either. Aram Simonian got 22 votes, Gagik
Ghazinian 32 ones, 9 people voted against all of them, and 7 voting
papers were recognized invalid. So, the YSU Rector’s elections entered
the third stage. According to Aram Simonian, it’s possible that Gagik
Ghazinian wins at that stage, but it isn’t excluded that the 4th stage
will also be held. Before the elections Aram Simonian expressed an
opinion that which of the four candidates is elected, it will be good
for the institution as all the of them are from the University. After
the second stage, Levon Mkrtchian, the head of the NA “ARF” faction
mentioned that he appreciates all the candidates, but finds that it
will be better for the YSU that the Rector is a representative of the
branch of natural sciences. He didn’t hide that he voted for Gegham
Gevorgian at the first stage.