Politician: Former mayor accused of land grab now leads Berd community

Mesrop Arakelyan, co-founder of the Country to Live party, has raised serious concerns about the accountability of local officials under the current government.

In a Facebook post on Thursday, Arakelyan pointed to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statement that 1.93 hectares of land in the village of Koghes had been returned to the state.

“Attention! It turns out the land had originally been put up for auction by former Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) mayor Arayik Nersisyan, who later acquired it through the same auction,” Arakelyan wrote.

According to Arakelyan, a criminal case was launched into the incident. Nersisyan pleaded guilty and returned the land to the state.

“Where is Arayik Nersisyan now?” Arakelyan asked rhetorically. “In the same place – only now as a member of the ruling Civil Contract party. Since 2021, he has served as the head of the Berd community in Lori Province.”

He called on Civil Contract officials to issue a formal response to the matter.