"My son Ara Budaghyan has not experienced any pressure," Emil Budaghyan, the father of Ara Budaghyan, ex-candidate for Goris Mayor, told ArmInfo.
Four candidates were to run for Goris Mayor's position on June 8 2014: Tigran Karapetyan, Hrayr Yolyan, Ara Budaghyan (former member of Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)) and Vachagan Adunts (member of RPA). Following Ara Budaghyan's sudden withdrawal of his candidacy, Tigran Karapetyan also suddenly withdrew his candidacy. Actually, Vachagan Adunts, the Republican Party's candidate, who has enlisted also the support of Syunik's former governor, will be 'fighting' for the mayor's post against non- party man Hrayr Yolyan only.
"In this entire story, my son came out as 'rearguard' for his friend Tigran Karapetyan. He had no ambitions to take the mayor's post. He planned to withdraw his candidacy in favor of Tigran Karapetyan from the very beginning," Budaghyan senior said. According to him, Tigran Karapetyan began feeling pressure after the public opinion poll conducted by ex-governor of Syunik Surik Khachatryan (Litska) in Goris. When they found out that over 70% of the Goris residents support Tigran Karapetyan, Litska rushed to Yerevan where his patrons launched relevant measures to make Karapetyan withdraw his candidacy.
According to ArmInfo's source at RPA, the situation in Goris is growing tense not because the person of the future mayor, but because of the need to keep balance between the Hakobyans, the family of the Mayor Vahe Hakobyan, and the Syunik ex-mayor's entourage. The country's top leadership now seeks not to allow Hakobyans to monopolize power in Syunik.