Voters in Hrazdan, the administrative capital of Armenia’s Kotayk Province, go to the polls today to elect a new mayor.

One of the candidates is Civil Contract member Sevag Mikayelyan, son of Civil Contract Board President Sasun Mikayelyan.

The 25-year-old is running without the backing of the party because Nikol Pashinyan, the party’s leader, opposed his candidacy because his father has a high position in the party and didn’t want to be seen as continuing the tradition of nepotism so prevalent in Armenian politics of the past.

Sevag Mikayelyan works as an inspector for the Malatya-Sebastia branch of Gazprom Armenia. His campaign slogan is – New Realities, New Hrazdan.

The other candidate for mayor is 24-year-old Levon Stepanyan, the founder of a café/bookstore in Hrazdan called My Corner. He’s running as an independent under the slogan – United, Let’s Build a New Hrazdan.

Republican Party of Armenia member Aram Danielyan, Hrazdan’s mayor since 2002, resigned in June due to the changing political reality in Armenia.

Danielyan was replaced by acting mayor Lilit Stepanyan.