Armenian capital to hold national-eyed elections

The Central Electoral Commission of Armenia announced on Monday that it has started accepting relevant documents from political parties wanting to run for the City Council of the capital Yerevan in May. The capital of Armenia has a population of 1.1 million, which accounts for about 40 percent of the entire permanent population of the country, so big attention is paid to the City Council elections by political forces in the country. The Mayor of Yerevan is elected by the 65-member City Council, which in turn is elected directly by the city population through a so-called proportional electoral system, in which citizens cast their ballots for the lists of political parties. The law requires the parties pass a minimum threshold of six percent to be represented in the City Council. Election campaign will officially commence on April 7 and end on May 3, right before the "day of silence." The election for the City Council will be held on May 5. In the first such elections of the Yerevan City Council held in May of 2009, the ruling Republican Party won the majority.