YEREVAN—Yerevan City Council unanimously approved Deputy Mayor Kamo Areyan’s recommendation to hold early elections for the city’s mayor on July 16 at 11 a.m. The decision took place during an extraordinary sitting which was convened as a result of former Mayor Taron Markaryan’s July 9 resignation.
Yelk faction leader Davit Khajakyan had recommended holding the election on August 8, but that date was rejected by a vote of 35–15 with one abstention.
According to law, the City Council has one month from Markaryan’s resignation to elect a new mayor, who will be nominated by the various parties represented in the council.
Since the power change in Armenia that occurred with the election of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on May 8, certain groups had staged protests in front of City Hall demanding Markaryan’s resignation. Apparently bowing to the mounting pressure, Markaryan stepped down. He had served as the city’s mayor for eight consecutive years.