Yesterday President Serzh Sargsyan issued a message on the occasion of the election to the Yerevan City Council. The message reads in part: "Dear residents of Yerevan, The first elections to the City Council are over. We are launching a new system of administration in the capital, which is a serious progress towards reinforcement of democratic mechanisms in Armenia. I congratulate all citizens of Yerevan on this occasion. I’d like to extend my congratulations to the Republican Party of Armenia, the Prosperous Armenia Party and the Armenian National Congress on their success in the elections and wish them productive activity in the City Council. I congratulate all the forces participating in the elections on the successful conduct of the election campaign and the effective use of the opportunities for bringing forward sound approaches targeted at the development of the capital city. The polls of May 31 and the whole election campaign prove that we have managed to solve a substantial part of the problems we faced for years and have moved forward towards solution of others. Unfortunately, infringements were registered at some polling stations. My stance on those is clear: the interest of one or several persons cannot be higher than the interest of the state, and fair elections are the absolute interest of the state. These require not only the exclusion of election frauds, but also consistency in revealing and eliminating the frauds. Therefore, it is the demand of all of us that every violation should be revealed, the guilty should be held accountable. Dear residents of Yerevan, once again I congratulate you on the occasion of the elections for the Yerevan City Council I wish prosperity to our capital and success and all the best to its residents.”
