Avetis Arakelyan has been elected as the First Deputy Mayor of Gyumri, following a vote of approval by the city council. Of the 33 members, 17 voted in favor, while members of the ruling Civil Contract party abstained.

Arakelyan holds the second spot on the Communist Party's city council list and is the son-in-law of Mayor Vardan Ghukasyan. He previously served as a council member with the “Armenian Renaissance” faction during Samvel Balasanyan’s tenure, according to Radar.am .

“The fact that he is my son-in-law doesn’t matter. I feel a strong responsibility and will demand more from him than from anyone else. Working with me is hard—I will be strict on every issue,” emphasized Mayor Ghukasyan.

The post of second deputy mayor was assigned to Gagik Manukyan, who held the same role several times during Ghukasyan’s earlier terms. He is also a former Member of Parliament and currently serves as secretary of the Communist Party’s Gyumri city committee.

Vardan Ghukasyan, who led Gyumri from 1999 to 2012, has been re-elected as mayor.