On October 28 Karen Karapetyan, the mayor of Yerevan, resigned and stated that he was leaving for other job. He said that the reasons for his resignation were personal and gave no further details. However, this statement seemed inconclusive for some experts, politicians and journalists. Before his appointment to the position of mayor, Krapetyan was the chief-executive of ArmRosgazprom. There are several versions of the resignation.
First version
The former mayor has plans to leave Yerevan and move to Moscow, where a high position awaits him. The company United Electric Networks and Gazprom are mentioned, where Karapetyan was proposed for the position of deputy head of the company in the sphere of links with the former Soviet republics. Even though this information hasn’t been confirmed by Gazprom, some experts in Yerevan say that the salary of the executive board members in the Russian gas monopolist is much larger than the Yerevan mayor’s. However, few people in Armenia believe that Karapetyan left the position because of the salary issue. Most experts see a political reason in the resignation of Karapetyan.
Second version
Karapetyan agreed to shift from the calm and profitable position of the chief-executive in ArmRosgazprom to the problematic and stressful work of the capital's mayor only because he expected to become the Prime Minister of the state. Even though Karapetyan always denied this information, the rumors circulated. Some opposition newspapers reported that Prime Minister, Tigran Sarkisyan, was glad to learn about Karapetyan’s “business trip.” Recent confident speeches by Sarkisyan and the decision of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia on putting the Prime Minister at the head of the party’s list for the 2012 parliamentary elections show that the authorities want Sarkisyan to remain in his position. As for the resignation of the mayor, the head of the government said: “Karapetyan presented me his reasons in detail, which coincide with those he voiced publicly. I don’t see any implication here.”
Nevertheless, for 20 years of Armenian independence, Yerevan has changed ten mayors, most of whom had short terms in this position. Probably the reason for such employee turnover is that many of the mayors, including Karapetyan, had been inexperienced politicians.
Third version
Karapetyan had problems with President Serge Sargsyan, as the population of the city didn’t like the work of the mayor. Karapetyan prohibited street trading, which caused dissatisfaction among the people. “The resignation of Karapetyan is connected with his unpopular municipal policy,” the secretary of the opposition parliamentary faction Legacy, Larisa Alaverdyan, asserts.
A greater wave of protests was caused by the mayor’s decision to demolish non-working stalls and stalls whose term of land lease had run out. The mayor explained his decision was due to caring about the image of the city, as many stalls spoil the face of the capital’s streets.
According to some data, published in local periodicals, members of the RPA complained to the president that Karapetyan was turning the citizens against the authorities, and it was causing a growth in the number of dissatisfied people. However, the starting point of Karapetyan’s resignation is the statement on removing boutiques and cafes in Abovyan St. and other central streets, which belong to tycoons and their relatives. The tycoons fulfilled prevention of this program by the mayor. To protect his image, Karapetyan had to resign.
In present-day Armenia, the tycoons are always right. Moreover, ahead of the parliamentary elections in May 2012 the authorities won’t risk putting the tycoons’ interests at a disadvantage.
On October 31, at a meeting of the RPA under the chairmanship of President Sargsyan, the vice-mayor of Yerevan, Taron Margaryan, was appointed to the position of the capital’s mayor.
Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to VK.
