Karen Sarukhanyan has self-nominated for the Gyumri primaries
Karen Sarukhanyan, head of the Gyumri territorial structure of the Civil Contract party, has self-nominated for the primaries proposed by Nikol Pashinyan as a candidate for the temporary acting head of Gyumri.
Sarukhanyan announced this on his Facebook page. The canditate was stating that his candidacy reflects the requests and demands of Gyumri residents, as well as the majority support of the Civil Contract party’s Gyumri territorial organization members.
On October 28, Gyumri Mayor Vardges Samsonyan resigned. For over a month, Gyumri has been without a mayor. On November 26, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that preliminary elections would take place on December 8, 9, and 10. They commonly referred to internationally as “primaries.”
Pashinyan detailed the format of the primaries, explaining that a vote will be conducted among Gyumri residents—though not all—based on certain principles and, to some extent, randomness. The candidate who wins this vote will be appointed as the acting mayor of Gyumri.
Karen Sarukhanyan was initially considered the main candidate of the Civil Contract (CC) party, however, due to a drug-related controversy, his candidacy was withdrawn, only to be reconsidered later. Earlier in November, a member of the Gyumri City Council from the CC party and Sarukhanyan’s cousin were briefly detained on suspicion of drug possession and use.
Following these incidents, Karen Sarukhanyan also underwent a drug test. He personally announced this and emphasized that there was no obligation from Pashinyan to take the test. Sarukhanyan stated he is willing to retake drug dependency tests if necessary.
The following individuals have announced their participation in the primaries: former Deputy Mayor Vahagn Mkrtchyan, MP Davit Arushanyan, current City Council member Shavarsh Aramyan, and singer Artyom Tumanyan.