A group of politicians who previously represented Armenia’s opposition Republican Party have switched allegiance and in the upcoming municipal elections will be running as members of the ruling Civil Contract party. Municipal elections are being held in 19 communities in Armenia this year.
The ruling Civil Contract party often recruits popular politicians from other parties.
The first cycle of municipal elections was held on 27 September in Tumanyan, Ferik, Lermontovos, and Arzni. Civil Contract’s candidate for Tumanyan, Suren Tumanyan, won in 2021 – representing the opposition Republican Party. He joined the ruling party in 2026, and in September ran uncontested in the same region — he was re-elected with 95.1% of the vote.
In Goris, where elections are set for 25 October, Arush Arushanyan, a former vocal critic of the government who accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of losing Nagorno-Karabakh before, is standing for re-election as mayor — but this time will ally with Pashinyan’s Civil Contract.
OC MediaAni Ghulinyan
Prior to the election, Pashinyan announced they would form an electoral alliance with Arushanyan’s Business Party. While Goris voters backed Civil Contract in the 2021 parliamentary election, they elected Arushanyan as mayor in the local vote that same year. Pashinyan said that the voting pattern reflects a wish to avoid renewed tensions in the community and added that a similar model could work in other communities.
In Areni, the incumbent head of community, Husik Sahakyan, will be running again — but this time, again, under the banner of the Civil Contract party. Sahakyan, who has held his post for 30 years, ran for the Republican Party in 2017.
Gurgen Martirosyan, the current Republican mayor in Gavar, will be seeking re-election: representing Civil Contract. The same is true for Hovik Hoveyan, the current head of Martuni, and Ghazar Ghazaryan, the current head of Araks community, and Husik Sahakyan, the head of Areni.
Aharon Khachatryan came to power in Vardenis as part of an opposition coalition in 2021. However, according to Hetq, after a few court cases against him, he decided to sign up with the Civil Contract party and run for them.
The opposition is mainly passive in this year's municipal elections.
Strong Armenia, the largest opposition force in parliament, won 26% in the Tumanyan community in June but fielded no candidate in its local election. The faction’s secretary, Tigran Abrahamyan, told Factor.am that the party will contest some local elections and skip others, focusing on communities where it sees a high chance of winning. The only place Strong Armenia is fielding a candidate in the next round of elections is in has only a candidate in Stepanavan for the upcoming elections.