It appears that in the parliamentary race in Election District 29 (Lori Marz), stones and knives are being used by candidates and their supporters rather than public debate.

 Vahagn Martirosyan, the candidate of the opposition Armenian National Congress, has issued a statement claiming that Lernapat Mayor Vano Yeghiazaryan, a member of the ruling Republican Party, and his supporters have prevented candidates from other parties from meeting with residents.

He points to an incident that took place on April 30 involving independent candidate Armen Martirosyan.

Vahagn Martirosyan also say that a dispute broke out in the village on May 1 between the two camps, resulting in resident Norik Tamaryan being knifed by the mayor’s son.

On May 2, the mayor’s friends are also said to have assaulted and beaten Gevorg Melkonyan, the proxy of independent MP candidate Armen Martirosyan.

ANC candidate Martirosyan says these incidents are a gross violation of the electoral laws and has called for the guilty to be punished to the full extent of the law.

It seems that there was a dispute about a path that had been closed by the mayor’s father leading to some pasture.

Norik Tamaryan says that he called on residents not to give in to the action of Albert, the mayor’s father. This defiance allegedly irked the old man who called on his grandsons to confront Tamaryan.

Tamaryan claims that the mayor’s two sons and their friends got into a dispute with him and that one struck him on the chin with a knife.

Tamaryan says that they later struck him with rocks. He later got into his car and drove away to go home. The man says he heard a ruckus from down below and went to investigate after being joined by his proxy Gevorg Melkonyan.

They got drawn into a fight, says Tamaryan, in which Melkonyan was also injured.

Tamaryan says the mayor used the pasture access dispute as an excuse to show everybody who is boss in the community.

“Certain community leaders use their position to create an atmosphere of terror in their villages so that they can assure a majority of votes for their bosses. Lernapat is no exception,” said Vahagn Martirosyan.

Lernapat Mayor Yeghiazaryan says that Tamaryan is lying about the knife attack. The mayor says it was actually Tamaryan and Melkonyan who assaulted his father and son with rocks.

Gougarq District Police Chief Erik Sharmazanov says that Norik Tamaryan was indeed cut with a sharp object and that a forensics test is being conducted.

The police official says that one person has been questioned in the matter.

Sharmazanov admits that other inter-communal disputes have broken out after the attack on Tamaryan, resulting in the mayor’s father receiving a head injury.

Police are investigating the entire series of events.