By Alexander Pracht
The head of Yerevan’s Nor Nork district administration stepped down on Monday, three weeks after a violent altercation in the local administration headquarters led to criminal charges against him and five others.
“I am certain that speculation will follow, suggesting that I, as the head of Nor Nork, might obstruct the judicial process,” Davit Ter-Margaryan said in a statement. “Therefore, I am stepping down today,” he stated, labelling the incident “a provocation.”
The altercation, which took place late last month, involved the beating of Artur Chakhoyan, a local activist who had reportedly confronted Ter-Margaryan over alleged corruption. For reasons that remain unclear, Chakhoyan was also charged with hooliganism in the aftermath of the incident.
Ter-Margaryan is a member of the Hanrapetutyun party, a small but vocal pro-Western force in Armenian politics. Although not represented in the national parliament, Hanrapetutyun has a significant presence in Yerevan’s Council of Elders. Following the 2023 municipal elections, it entered a coalition with the ruling Civil Contract party and was granted leadership of two administrative districts, Nor Nork and Malatia-Sebastia, under a power-sharing deal.
Following the incident, Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan of the ruling Civil Contract party publicly condemned Davit Ter-Margaryan’s use of violence but stopped short of dismissing him from office. While Avinyan did not explicitly address his reasons, the Malatia-Sebastia district administration head Romik Mkhitarian threatened to dissolve the coalition with Civil Contract if Ter-Margaryan were removed, a move that could have triggered a political crisis in the city government.
The party has been outspoken in its criticism of Armenia’s former presidents Serzh Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan, frequently labeling them and their political allies in parliament as “Russian assets.” Hanrapetutyun has also used similar rhetoric against community activists it views as aligned with pro-Russian interests.
Amid calls for Ter-Margaryan’s resignation, Hanrapetutyun’s leader and former Armenian Prime Minister Aram Sargsyan issued a statement earlier this month, defending the party’s coalition with Civil Contract. “The Hanrapetutyun party did not enter a coalition in Yerevan out of an obsession with securing posts. We are driven by ideology. Even if we must give up positions, we will remain committed to the coalition agreement and will not hand over the capital to those who serve Russian interests,” Sargsyan said.
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