“Zhoghovurd”: Questions surrounding Akhuryan Mayor Zaven Manukyan's tenure — from conflicts of interest to the reorganization of community institutions
In the enlarged Akhuryan community, the Civil Contract party's electoral list for the local self-government elections scheduled for October 25 was headed by incumbent Mayor Zaven Manukyan. According to the coverage by the daily newspaper “Zhoghovurd,” several issues have arisen during his tenure concerning the prevention of conflicts of interest, the reorganization of community sports and cultural institutions, and the property declared by the official.
One of the most discussed episodes during Manukyan's tenure concerns a decision by the Corruption Prevention Commission. According to Hetq, on April 8, 2025, the Commission imposed an administrative fine of AMD 300,000 on the mayor for violating conflict-of-interest rules. The issue was related to the companies “Sofoni” and “Smartwave,” which are connected to Martik Matosyan, head of the Civil Contract faction in the Council of Elders, and his mother. According to the publication, between 2021 and 2024, these companies had signed 99 contracts with state and local self-government bodies, worth a total of AMD 125.5 million. According to the Commission's conclusion, Manukyan had not taken appropriate steps to prevent the conflict of interest or declare it in accordance with the established procedure. The mayor's representatives, however, had stated that, at the time the contracts were signed, he was unaware of the identity of “Smartwave's” owner.
The community sports and cultural institutions reorganization programme has also become a source of criticism. In 2023, the Community Council of Elders adopted a decision to dissolve the sports school, the library, and the “Fermata” art school and create a new sports and cultural center in their place. The sports school's director, Greco-Roman wrestling world champion Levon Geghamyan, and the employees had opposed the initiative, raising concerns about the procedure for adopting the decision, whether their opinions had been taken into account, and possible job cuts. The municipality's justification was that the reorganization was aimed at optimizing the institutions.