A government agency in Armenia has directed the municipal council of Goris, a town in the southeastern part of the country, to remove its opposition-linked mayor following the enforcement of a recent court ruling that disqualifies him from holding public office.
The 33-year-old mayor, Arush Arushanyan, has served as the head of Goris since 2017. He was one of four community leaders in Syunik province who were arrested on various charges shortly after the parliamentary elections in June 2021. These leaders, including Arushanyan, dismissed the charges as politically motivated. They had previously called for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and later joined the main opposition Hayastan alliance, which was established by former President Robert Kocharian in preparation for the snap elections.
In a local election held three months after his arrest, an opposition bloc led by Arushanyan won a decisive victory over Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party. Arushanyan, who was reelected as mayor, was released from jail in March 2022 after receiving a suspended six-month prison sentence.
While Arushanyan was acquitted of vote-buying, he was found guilty of assault and abuse of power. A Syunik court also ruled that he cannot hold any local government positions for the next five years. This verdict was later upheld by two appeals courts and became effective on July 24.
Following this development, the Armenian Justice Ministry’s Probation Service informed the Goris council on August 16 that Arushanyan must be removed from office. However, the council, which is controlled by his bloc, rejected the demand on Monday, stating that complying with the directive is “outside the scope of the council’s authority” because Armenian law does not address the impeachment of mayors convicted by the courts.
“Arush Arushanyan continues to perform his duties,” a lawyer representing the Goris mayor told the Hraparak newspaper on Wednesday.
There has been no immediate response from the Probation Service or other government bodies regarding Arushanyan’s refusal to step down.
Although Arushanyan has refrained from publicly criticizing Pashinyan over the past two years, leading to media speculation that he may no longer be aligned with the Armenian opposition, he did recently greet Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian, a prominent opposition figure leading anti-government protests in Yerevan, during the latter’s visit to Goris.
