It is not necessary to spend $20,000 on service cars, says mayoral candidate
Mayoral elections are slated to be held in Artik community of Shirak province in September 2016. There are three candidates vying for the mayoral seat - incumbent Mayor Arsen Abrahamyan, former Mayor Khachatur Varagyan and Chairman of the “United Youth League” Movement Sevak Hovhannisyan.
“My primary aim is to make changes for the community,” Sevak Hovhannisyan, who is the youngest of the candidates, said to A1+.
The 27-year-old candidate is a native of Artik. He is particularly known for his fight against sects. “Nothing has been done for Artik during these years. If I become next mayor of the community, first of all I shall open new workplaces for locals,” Mr Hovhannisyan said adding that he is trying his best to help people whenever he can.
Asked what the former mayors failed to do during their tenure of office, he said, “Considering the small budget of the community, it is not necessary to spend $20,000 on service cars and additional staff members.”
The chairman of the “United Youth League” does not view the other candidates as his rivals and says the city needs a younger mayor. The non-partisan candidate believes his luck in the upcoming elections.
Incumbent Mayor Arsen Abrahamyan does not care about the elections. “Right now I am busy resolving important problems of the city which are numerous and varied,” he says. Mr Abrahamyan says the public advisory body adjacent to City Hall deals with all priorities. When we told him that one of the mayoral candidates said that the funds allocated to the City Hall are spent on expensive cars and additional staff members, the incumbent mayor said, “It was said deliberately to undermine the merits of his contender.”
Asked whether he considers the other two candidates as his rivals, Mr Abrahamyan said, “Of course, I do.”
At the same time, he agreed that unemployment is one of the major concerns of local authorities. “It is a complex and global problem not only for Artik, but also for the entire region and the republic in general. Serious investments are needed to solve the problem. The city’s budget is AMD 400 million, while the needs exceed AMD 3 billion. Clearly, the budget cannot cover all expenses,” he said.
