The ruling My Step (Im Kayl) faction of the Yerevan Municipal Council says it wants to replace Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan and has initiated a vote of no-confidence against him.

The faction, in a statement released today, says that Marutyan, who was elected mayor of Yerevan in 2018 on the My Step alliance ballot, severed his ties with the Nikol Pashinyan's Civil Contract party in December 2020 and has since failed to implement the party’s campaign obligations.

The faction says Marutyan “has not sufficiently fulfilled the most important mission of eliminating systemic corruption from the Yerevan Municipality.”

As a result, the faction says it has nominated First Deputy Mayor Hrachya Sargsyan to replace Marutyan.

Snap Yerevan Municipal Council elections were held on September 23, 2018 following the resignation of then Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan.

Marutyan headed the alliance’s electoral list that won with 81% of the vote.

The My Step Alliance, comprised of the Civil Contract Party, the Mission Party and various civil society representatives, was formed in August 2018 and was lead by Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan.

The alliance dissolved in May 2021, following an announcement that Civil Contract would participate in the 2021 Armenian parliamentary elections independently.

Top photo: Hrachya Sargsyan