Authorities make decisions in their narrow circle and then present them to us – Izabella Abgaryan

Speaking with Alpha News, Secretary of the National Progress faction of the Yerevan City Council Izabella Abgaryan commented on the latest statement by Mayor Tigran Avinyan that citizens will have to pay 150 drams for public transport, as well as use tariffs.

“The citizens’ demand was to keep the fee for one ride at 100 drams. A petition and signature collection were also organized for this.

Now they have created an artificial demand and claim that this is not the demand of the majority of people. I think it is clear to everyone how this decision was made, just like all decisions are made in the country. For example, they can make a decision via WhatsApp. In any case, the decision was not made after discussions with all factions of the Yerevan City Council, but this is how it should have happened, because this is the procedure,” she emphasized.

According to Izabella Abgaryan, Tigran Avinyan makes decisions on transport reforms within his narrow circle.

“Democratic governance consists of presenting the project to members of various factions. In the case of the entire transport reform, our faction and the Mother Armenia faction were simply bypassed. These people sit and make decisions in their narrow circle and then present them to us. They have no right to decide; the decision is made by the Yerevan City Council through a vote. They simply confirmed that voting in the City Council is a fraud. This is a disgrace and an anti-democratic form of governance,” Izabella Abgaryan concluded.