ArmInfo Armenian Rebirth's preconditions on creation of a coalition in the Elders' Council of Vanadzor are unacceptable for Bright Armenia, Leader of Bright Armenia Party Edmon Marukyan said on October 4, when replying to ArmInfo's question.
"Naturally, Armenian Rebirth's preconditions are unacceptable to us, because we suggest local cooperation that provides a real chance to oppose the ruling Republican Party of Armenia in the Elders' Council of Vanadzor. If we join forces, we will have 18 mandates and we will be able to nominate the mayor ourselves. Otherwise, we will give a chance to the RPA to gain one more victory," he said, noting that the discussions on this issue are still underway and that Prosperous Armenia has not yet expressed its stand. He added that the possibility of the second round of elections is little, because if the opposition fails to consolidate, the RPA will advance the mayor's nominee itself and will elect the mayor.
To note, Armenian Rebirth Party has responded to proposal made by Head of Bright Armenia party Edmon Marukyan to create a coalition in Vanadzor. In its statement the Armenian Rebirth Party says that the local government elections have demonstrated that there are political forces of local and republican influence. "We congratulate Bright Armenia on good results in Vanadzor, however we have to state that the party has not registered success in any other community. Meanwhile, Armenian Rebirth Party has stable third place both in Vanadzor and Gyumri. Considering this the Armenian Rebirth offers two variants of cooperation: in the first case, the party is ready to accept Marukyan's proposal on coalition if Bright Armenia joins the Armenian Rebirth during the upcoming parliamentary elections, which will allow forming a more competitive political team all over the country, in the second case, we offer Bright Armenia to join Armenian Rebirth in Vanadzor and equally share responsibility for political activities", the statement reads. Meanwhile, Prosperous Armenia party stated that it is ready to discuss Marukyan's proposals on creating coalition. To note, Edmon Marukyan had stated that the Bright Armenia Party proposes Prosperous Armenia and Armenian Rebirth to make coalition and put up one candidate for the Vanadzor's mayor.
To note, by the preliminary data, candidates from the RPA obtained the biggest number of votes in both Gyumri and Vanadzor. In Gyumri, the incumbent mayor Samvel Balasanyan received 34.64% of votes. The candidates nominated by the following political forces rank next: Prosperous Armenia - 21.7%, Armenian Rebirth - 10.62%, GALA - 10.49%, Solidarity - 5.77%, Spirit of Gyumri - 5.74%, ARF Dashnaktsutyun - 5.36%. In Vanadzor, the RPA obtained 37.55% of votes, Prosperous Armenia - 27.54%, Armenian Rebirth - 13.27%, ARFD - 6.37%, while Solidarity, Armenian National Congress and Civil Contract failed to cross the 5% threshold.