The Armenian authorities carry out repressions against the heads of local self-government bodies representing opposition parties.

Axar.az reports that the Deputy Chairman of the National Congress Party of Armenia, Levon Zourabian, said this at a press conference.

According to Zourabian, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his party intend to get rid of unwanted community leaders by cooperating closely with investigative structures and the Central Election Commission.

Moreover, Defense Minister Suren Papikyan joined this campaign against the opposition mayors:

"For this purpose, Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan often uses the resources of the Ministry of Defense and the army as a whole."

He noted that a year ago, on the day Arkady Tamazyan was elected mayor of Alaverdi, the Ministry of Defense suddenly "remembered" that two representatives of the Council of Elders should be drafted into military service. On the initiative of the Ministry of Defense, the police conducted a raid, the purpose of which was to disrupt the elections.

He said that a similar situation happened with Mamikon Aslanyan, the mayor of Big Karakilsa, who was arrested after winning the local elections held in December 2021.