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Elections: Why are Village Mayors in Kotayk Mostly Prosperous Armenia Party Members?
Asked why is it that village mayors in Kotayk Province are mainly Prosperous Party of Armenia (BHK) members, Kotayk village mayor and BHK member himself Sahak Harutyunyan replied: "And in Yerevan all are Republican — what's the big deal?"
As of 5:25 pm on June 8, election day for rural community leaders in Armenia, only 445 of 1,230 registered voters in the village of Kotayk had voted. Head of the electoral commission, Republican Party of Armenia member Artur Grigoryan explained the low turnout by the high rate of labor migration: "30–40% of the village is working abroad," he said.
Harutyunyan, one of two candidates in Kotayk village, considers emigration a problem of Armenia and other former Soviet Union countries, saying if the situation continues this way, he too will leave.
The other candidate, Felix Harutyunyan (no party affiliation), runs a window workshop in the village. He is happy with the current mayor's work, but he wants to carry out some of his own work. "I haven't promised the villagers mountains, but I'll do some things; for example, first of all, I'll build a playground."
When Hetq approached the incumbent, Harutyunyan, he pretended not to be the mayor. "The village mayor has left, and I don't have his number," he said. Shortly after, he decided to "reveal" his identity.
Harutyunyan has been in charge of the village since 2006. He has wheat fields and plots of land in Kotayk, and a normal attitude toward his non-party opponent. "The man wants to work for the village, and do work himself," he said.
Photo captions:
Incumbent Sahak Harutyunyan
Non-party candidate Felix Harutyunyan
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