Opposition parties that obtained seats in Elders` Councils in  Vanadzor and Gyumri fail to agree on formation of a coalition against  Republican Party  

ArmInfo Armenian Rebirth's preconditions on creation of a coalition in the Elders' Council of Vanadzor are unacceptable for Bright Armenia, Leader of Bright Armenia Party Edmon Marukyan said on October 4, when replying to  ArmInfo's question.     

"Naturally, Armenian Rebirth's preconditions are unacceptable to us,  because we suggest local cooperation that provides a real chance to  oppose the ruling Republican Party of Armenia in the Elders' Council  of Vanadzor. If we join forces, we will have 18 mandates and we will  be able to nominate the mayor ourselves. Otherwise, we will give a  chance to the RPA to gain one more victory," he said, noting that the  discussions on this issue are still underway and that Prosperous  Armenia has not yet expressed its stand. He added that the  possibility of the second round of elections is little, because if  the opposition fails to consolidate, the RPA will advance the mayor's  nominee itself and will elect the mayor.         

To note, Armenian Rebirth Party has responded to proposal made by  Head of Bright Armenia party Edmon Marukyan to create a coalition in  Vanadzor. In its statement the Armenian Rebirth Party says that the  local government elections have demonstrated that there are political  forces of local and republican influence. "We congratulate Bright  Armenia on good results in Vanadzor, however we have to state that  the party has not registered success in any other community.   Meanwhile, Armenian Rebirth Party has stable third place both in  Vanadzor and Gyumri. Considering this the Armenian Rebirth offers two  variants of cooperation: in the first case, the party is ready to  accept Marukyan's proposal on coalition if Bright Armenia joins the  Armenian Rebirth during the upcoming parliamentary elections, which  will allow forming a more competitive political team all over the  country, in the second case, we offer Bright Armenia to join Armenian  Rebirth in Vanadzor and equally share responsibility for political  activities", the statement reads. Meanwhile, Prosperous Armenia party  stated that it is ready to discuss Marukyan's proposals on creating  coalition. To note, Edmon Marukyan had stated that the Bright Armenia  Party proposes Prosperous Armenia and Armenian Rebirth to make  coalition and put up one candidate for the Vanadzor's mayor. 

To note, by the preliminary data, candidates from the RPA obtained  the biggest number of votes in both Gyumri and Vanadzor. In Gyumri,  the incumbent mayor Samvel Balasanyan received 34.64% of votes. The  candidates nominated by the following political forces rank next:   Prosperous Armenia - 21.7%, Armenian Rebirth - 10.62%, GALA - 10.49%,  Solidarity - 5.77%, Spirit of Gyumri - 5.74%, ARF Dashnaktsutyun -  5.36%. In Vanadzor, the RPA obtained 37.55% of votes, Prosperous  Armenia - 27.54%, Armenian Rebirth - 13.27%, ARFD - 6.37%, while  Solidarity, Armenian National Congress and Civil Contract failed to  cross the 5% threshold.