11:32, 30 July 2018

Pashinyan's colleagues nominate comedian actor as candidate to become Yerevan Mayor

Hayk Marutyan at the Republic Square in Yerevan, May 8, 2018. Photo: © Sputnik / Aram Nersesyan

On July 29, the "Civil Contract" Party headed by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan nominated comedian actor Hayk Marutyan as a candidate to run for the post of Yerevan Mayor.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the election of the Yerevan Mayor scheduled for July 16 failed due to lack of quorum, since the factions of the "Elk" and "Republican Party of Armenia" (RPA) refused to participate in the election.

Former Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan announced his resignation on July 9. However, he did not explain why he made such a decision. The request for the Taron Margaryan's resignation from the post of Yerevan Mayor was voiced at protest rallies.

A meeting of the board of the "Civil Contract" Party was held on Sunday evening, July 29.

"Hayk Marutyan is a candidate for the post of Yerevan Mayor from the 'Civil Contract' Party," said Alen Simonyan, the spokesman for the party, a delegate to the Armenian parliament, as quoted by the RIA "Novosti".

Actor, producer and showman Hayk Marutyan, well-known in Armenia, was born on December 18, 1976. In 1992-1997, he studied at an engineering university. Hayk Marutyan starred in popular comic sketches and comedy films, the website "Around the TV" reports.

In 2017, Hayk Marutyan was an independent observer at the elections to the parliament of Armenia. During protests in April, he supported current Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the "Sputnik-Armenia" reports.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 30, 2018 at 00:23 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.