475 polling stations opened in Yerevan at 8:00am on Sunday, September 23 as the residents of the Armenian capital are set to elect the new members of the Council of Elders.

12 parties and blocs are running in first elections after the velvet revolution which saw the resignation of former Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan and the appointment as the country’s new PM of Nikol Pashinyan, a former lawmaker who led the popular movement.

Polling stations will be open in the next 12 hours to allow citizens to cast their ballots.

Election campaigns began on September 10 and concluded on September 21 when Armenia was celebrating the 27th anniversary of independence.

Former Mayor Taron Margaryan submitted his resignation on July 9, without providing reasons for such a move.

In November 2011, Margaryan was elected the Mayor of the city by the decision of Yerevan City Council. Following elections of the Council of the Elders in May 2013 and May 2017, he was re-elected in the post.