The Armenian National Congress (HAK) is not fielding any candidate for the upcoming mayoral election in Vanadzor, nor will it be supporting any of those in the race.

Ashot Manoukyan, who heads the HAK office in Vanadzor, says that member organizations can back anyone they like even though the HAK central leadership sees no one in the race who shares its political views.

“We haven’t proposed our own candidate because our prior election experiences in Vanadzor lead us to believe that true elections can’t be expected,” Manoukyan told Hetq.

When asked if anything had changed during the 13 year tenure of Samvel Darbinyan as Vanadzor mayor, Manoukyan answered, “Sure things have changed. Just look at the goings and comigs on the streets. Two-thirds of residents have left. Those who have stayed behind neither express happiness or sadness. They just have blank stares. Our town is part of the country as a whole and has been impacted similarly. When things get bad overall, things go downhill here too.”

Manoukyan believes that regime change on a national level is the only solution for Vanadzor.

“The number one guy at the top has to change. There is no other way. Whoever wins in Vanadzor will only continue the political course of the central leadership. We can’t expect anything to change and that’s why we don’t support any of them,” argued Manoukyan.

HAK will be participating in the election for the Vanadzor Municipal Council and has nominated five candidates.

Manoukyan says that the election of two or three will be considered a serious victory for HAK and will allow the organization to fix some of the shortcomings at the city level.