Factor TV: Kindergarten Director’s Position in Exchange for Civil Contract’s Support?

The appointment of the director of Spitak Kindergarten No. 2 has raised questions about the fairness of the competition and possible political interference. According to Factor TV, Gohar Vardanyan, who participated in the competition, answered all five questions correctly, while Ani Abrahamyan, who was appointed director, answered only three. Despite this, one day after the competition, community head Qajayr Nikoghosyan entrusted the position to Abrahamyan.

In an appeal addressed to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Gohar Vardanyan claimed that the community head had told her that the question of her appointment was connected to instructions from Lori Governor Aren Mkrtchyan and Central Electoral Commission Chairman Vahagn Hovakimyan. According to the complainant, the decision was also linked to the Civil Contract party’s support for Nikoghosyan’s candidacy in the upcoming local self-government elections. The appeal also mentions Civil Contract MP Lusine Avetisyan.

The officials mentioned have denied the allegations of their interference. The head of the community administration’s staff was also unable to explain clearly the criteria by which Nikoghosyan preferred Ani Abrahamyan’s candidacy, despite her having answered fewer questions correctly.

The handling of the complaint is also noteworthy: the Prime Minister’s Office forwarded it to the regional administration, which then requested an explanation from the very community head whose decision was being challenged. No new competition was held. Moreover, the Investigative Committee told Factor TV that it had received no crime report or written communication from the Prime Minister’s Office regarding this case.

Thus, the competition results and the timing of the appointment are known to the public, but it has still not been clarified why the candidate who answered fewer questions correctly was selected. And if Pashinyan truly intends to punish officials who unlawfully interfere in elections, the Spitak case is the first serious test of his promises. However, the alarm raised over possible interference by high-ranking officials has remained without an investigation by law enforcement, while the questions surrounding the kindergarten director’s appointment remain unanswered. The authorities speak about democracy and free elections, but when the conduct of members of their own team comes under scrutiny, the matter remains at the level of correspondence and requests for explanations, and no legal assessment is ever provided. It turns out that Pashinyan’s latest public promises have joined the endless series of lies.

Since party support for the position of community head is linked to the appointment of a kindergarten director, who can guarantee that the decisive factor in the November 29 local self-government elections will be the will of the citizens rather than an arrangement reached in the corridors of power?

Local self-government elections in Spitak are scheduled for November 29, and the Civil Contract candidate for community head has not yet been announced.