2018 Yerevan City Council election explained

Election Name:2018 Yerevan City Council election
Type:parliamentary
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:2017 Yerevan City Council election
Previous Year:2017
Next Election:2023 Yerevan City Council election
Next Year:2023
Seats For Election:All 65 seats to Yerevan City Council
Majority Seats:33
Turnout:43.66%
Mayor of Yerevan
Before Election:Kamo Areyan (acting)
Before Party:Republican Party of Armenia
Posttitle:Mayor of Yerevan
After Election:Hayk Marutyan
After Party:My Step Alliance
Leader1:Hayk Marutyan
Party1:My Step Alliance
Last Election1:Part of Way Out Alliance holding 14 seats
Seats1:57
Popular Vote1:294,092
Percentage1:81.06%
Leader2:Naira Zohrabyan
Party2:Prosperous Armenia
Last Election2:New
Seats2:5
Popular Vote2:25,218
Percentage2:6.95%
Image3:BA
Leader3:Artak Zeynalyan
Party3:Bright Alliance
Last Election3:Part of Way Out Alliance holding 14 seats
Seats3:3
Popular Vote3:18,114
Percentage3:4.99%
Flag Image:File:Flag of Yerevan.svg

Yerevan City Council elections were held on 23 September 2018.[1] The snap election was trigged after the resignation of former mayor Taron Margaryan amid the aftermath of the 2018 Armenian Velvet Revolution. Well-known comedian and actor Hayk Marutyan, heading the electoral list of the My Step Alliance, was elected to the office of mayor of Yerevan.

Candidates

979 candidates competed for 65 open seats in the Yerevan city council (also known as the "council of elders").[2]

A total of 12 parties/alliances participated in the election (numbered below according to the electoral ballot listing):

A pre-election analysis of the top 10 lists from each party or alliance[11] revealed that:

Electoral code and voter data

According to official data there were 848,343 eligible voters.[12] [13]

Foreign citizens living in Yerevan could cast their ballots if they had at least a one-year registration before voting day.[14]

The electoral code defines one vote per voter and a threshold of 6 percent of cast ballots for parties (50,900 votes at 100% turnout) and 8 percent for alliances (67,867 at 100% turnout), surpassing which is required for consideration during mandate allocations. Only if less than 3 parties/alliances pass the threshold, would all three best performing parties/alliances be allocated mandates.[15] [16] A “bonus” to the political force that wins at least 40 percent of the council seats will allow it to occupy majority of the seats and appoint the new mayor of Yerevan.[17]

Mandates will be allocated according to proportional representation principle, while regarding Yerevan as one multi-mandate electoral district.

Election observation

Only one international organization, the International Expert Center for Electoral Systems (ICES) was registered for monitoring the election.

While 662 observers from 8 local organizations and 598 representatives of 49 media outlets participated. Ten of the representatives were from 5 foreign media outlets.[18]

Electoral fraud prevention and counteraction

Ahead of the September 23 election, in the second and final reading, the Armenian Parliament unanimously ratified a bill criminalizing electoral fraud. The amendments to Armenia’s Criminal Code make electoral fraud punishable by imprisonment whereas before, individuals charged with vote buying or selling were simply fined.

Police established a telephone hot line which was used to report electoral fraud on election day. Anonymity of those who report corruption cases will be guaranteed.[19]

Election campaign

The campaign was marked by bitter accusations by leading candidates.[20] [21] Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, said the elections will be between "bright" and "dark" forces.[22]

After some candidates called for public debates and expressed their participation willingness, a debate was scheduled to be broadcast on public TV on the last campaign day, September 21 at 22:25 - just 95 minutes before "silence day" begins. The debate was recorded in advance, rather than broadcast live. For this reason, only one candidate, Naira Zohrabyan, representing Prosperous Armenia had declined participation and called for a live debate,[23] while ten candidates confirmed their participation.[23] If broadcast shall indeed end before midnight, assuming equal speaking time distribution to the candidates and taking into amount some time for moderation, it was expected that speaking time per candidate would amount to only about 7 (+-2) minutes.

Opinion polls

On September 11, Gallup International published an opinion poll survey.[24] According to the poll:[25]

If these numbers held, only the top 3 parties/alliances (My Step, Prosperous Armenia, and Bright Alliance) would make it into city council, according to the rule of passing the electoral threshold and requiring a minimum of 3 parties/alliances to be represented in council.

Results

The My Step Alliance won a landslide victory in the Yerevan City Council elections, according to preliminary data.[26]

Well-known comedian and actor Hayk Marutyan, who heads the electoral list of the My Step Alliance, became the next mayor of Yerevan as the My Step Alliance garnered more than 50 percent of mandates, and according to law, the person who heads the electoral list of the winning political force is considered mayor-elect. Hayk Marutyan assumed office on 10 October 2018.[27] He is elected for a term of 4 years.

References

  1. http://hetq.am/eng/news/92292/ Yerevan to Elect New Municipal Council on September 23
  2. Web site: Yerevan Elections in Numbers. www.civilnet.am. en. 2018-09-20. 2018-09-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20180920160906/https://www.civilnet.am/news/2018/09/19/Yerevan-Elections-in-Numbers/345085. dead.
  3. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/942574/ Naira Zohrabyan is Prosperous Armenia Party’s candidate for Yerevan Mayor
  4. Web site: Իմ շանսերը ես գնահատում եմ բավականին բարձր. քաղաքապետի թեկնածու Անահիտ Թարխանյան – ShantNews – Շանթ Հեռուստաընկերություն – Լուրեր – Shant TV Online.
  5. http://womennet.am/en/zaruhi-qachaqapet-1/ Zaruhi Postanjyan: “I will run for mayor of Yerevan”
  6. https://www.lragir.am/2018/08/10/370620/ (in Armenian) «Ժառանգություն» կուսակցությունը կմասնակցի Երեւանի ավագանու ընտրություններին
  7. https://www.aravot-en.am/2018/07/29/216456/ Civil Contract nominates Hayk Marutyan for Yerevan’s Mayor seat
  8. Web site: Government - Team Members - The Government of Armenia. LLC. Helix Consulting. www.gov.am. en. 2018-09-19.
  9. https://news.am/eng/news/466726.html Bright Armenia and Republic parties will participate in Yerevan elections without Civil Contract party
  10. https://news.am/eng/news/466851.html ARF to have no female candidate at upcoming Yerevan municipal council election
  11. News: Yerevan City Elections 2018: Everything You Need to Know. 2018-09-19. en.
  12. Web site: Police publicize Yerevan city council election final electoral rolls. news.am. en. 2018-09-20.
  13. Web site: Հայաստանի Հանրապետության կենտրոնական ընտրական հանձնաժողով. Elections.am. hy. 2018-09-19. 2018-09-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20180903052243/http://www.elections.am/council/election-27551/. dead.
  14. Web site: Non-Armenia citizens also can vote in Yerevan city council election. news.am. en. 2018-09-20.
  15. Web site: DocumentView. www.arlis.am. 2018-09-19.
  16. Web site: Electoral Code of Armenia (adopted in 2016).
  17. Web site: Armenia Police chief assures well-organized, transparent Yerevan city council election. news.am. en. 2018-09-20.
  18. Web site: 662 observers and 598 reporters to follow Yerevan City Council elections | www.aravot-en.am.
  19. News: Police Set-Up Hot Line for Yerevan Municipal Council Election - Hetq - News, Articles, Investigations. 2018-09-20. en.
  20. Web site: Yerevan Election Sparks Bitter Row Between Pashinian, Tsarukian Parties. «Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան. hy. 2018-09-20.
  21. Web site: Major Ally Rebukes, Warns Pashinian. «Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան. hy. 2018-09-20.
  22. Web site: Pashinyan: Yerevan mayor elections are elections of. news.am. en. 2018-09-20.
  23. Web site: Mayoral candidates to participate in Public TV's debate program - aysor.am - Hot news from Armenia. LLC. Helix Consulting. www.aysor.am. en. 2018-09-20.
  24. Web site: Yerevan 12 Shades / Քաղաքապետի 12 երանգները. gallup.am. en-US. 2018-09-19.
  25. Web site: 39.9% of Yerevan residents to back mayoral candidate Hayk Marutyan – polls - aysor.am - Hot news from Armenia. www.aysor.am. en. 2018-09-19.
  26. News: My Step bloc wins landslide victory in Yerevan City Council election. armenpress.am. 2018-09-24. en.
  27. Web site: Yerevan election vote tallying concluded, Hayk Marutyan to assume office as mayor on October 13. news.am. en. 2018-09-24.

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