Residents of the village of Khashtarak will go to the polls to elect a new mayor on February 12.

In the running is current mayor, Hayk Kamalyan, a member of the ruling Republican Party. He was nominated by the party’s regional Ijevan office.

Another candidate is Artur Vanesyan, a former Khashtarak mayor who now represents the Football Federation of Armenia in Tavoush Marz. He’s also a member of the Republican Party.

Artak Virabyan, the current deputy mayor, is also running along with Andranik Virabyan, who works as a lab specialist at the Ijevan Veterinary Services.

On the highway leading to Khashtarak you’ll see a huge sign installed by the All-Armenian Fund advertising the programs it has completed in this community of 2,100 residents – renovations to the school, health clinic and cultural center.

The first two have been renovated; not the cultural center.

The U.S. Millennium Challenge Grant has funded the paving of the road connecting Khashtarak to the interstate highway.

MP Mikayel Vardanyan, who represents the 40th electoral district, has given 1.5 million AMD for renovations to the club’s roof. The government has allocated 10 million to renovate the community center’s site.

Film aficionados will be interested to know that a segment of Henrik Malyan’s 1970 film “We and our mountains” featuring Sos Sargsyan and Mher Mkrtchyan was shot in the same building.

Hayk Kamalyan, village mayor since 2008, says that if re-elected he will tackle the drinking water problem off the bat.

Kamalyan verified our information that his deputy, Artak Virabyan, only entered the race on tactical grounds. There was the fear that the other two candidates would pull out, leaving only Kamalyan. According to the new election code, this would necessitate a new election in forty days.

Artur Vanesyan told me that the Republican Party had not exerted any pressure on him to drop out of the race in favour of the current mayor.

Andranik Virabyan, a member of the Prosperous Armenia Party, said that if elected he would focus on ways to keep young people in the village. He promised to purchase a harvester that would be shared by all village residents.

All four candidates say the election campaign is proceeding peacefully although it takes place against the backdrop of political developments in the town of Ijevan, only 11 kilometres away.

On November 13, Republican Party candidate Varuzhan Nesisyan lost out to Prosperous Armenia Party candidate Vardan Ghaloumyan in the mayoral election.

If a similar outcome takes place in Khashtarak, the repercussions will not go unnoticed.