Armenian PM calls for early municipal elections in Gyumri

On June 9, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that early elections to the municipal council in Gyumri should be held as soon as possible after he described the condition of parts of the city as shocking.

Speaking at a meeting, Pashinyan said the state of courtyards and streets in one district of Gyumri was “a disgraceful sight” and that the government should begin taking rapid action immediately, including road works, even before any new election takes place, Caliber.Az reports per Armenian media.

“We should hold extraordinary elections in Gyumri as soon as possible,” he said, according to the reports. He added that within the framework of Armenia’s annual programme to build 500 km of roads, 25 km should be asphalted in Gyumri and 50 km in Yerevan each year.

In elections to Gyumri’s Council of Elders in March 2025, opposition forces formed a coalition and elected Vardan Ghukasyan as mayor.

Pashinyan has repeatedly criticised Ghukasyan’s election and said the issue needed to be “resolved”.

On October 20, 2025, law enforcement officers carried out searches at Gyumri City Hall. Armenia’s Anti-Corruption Committee later said eight people, including Ghukasyan, were detained in a bribery investigation, and Ghukasyan was subsequently remanded in custody by court order.

By Aghakazim Guliyev