Papak Mkhitaryan, the former mayor of the village of Tzilkar who was convicted of abuse of official power, will be running in the mayoral election scheduled for September 23.

Mkhitaryan was sentenced to two years and Zhirayr Sargsyan, the former school principal, for 2.5 years, after they put up the municipality and the school as loan guarantors for several village residents. The two were later pardoned in a general amnesty.

When the villagers couldn’t pay, the banks went after the village municipality and the school. As a result, teachers weren’t being paid.

The two officials were replaced, but the banks still got the courts to seize loan payments from the municipality and the school.

The two new officials then started to counter-sue the banks and the financial seizures stopped.