Arush Arushanyan, once one of Pashinyan’s most prominent opponents in Syunik, will head the alliance formed by the ruling “Civil Contract” and the “Business” party in the October 25 Goris municipal elections.

Following the 2020 Artsakh War, Arushanyan was among the Syunik community heads demanding Pashinyan’s resignation. He later ran in the 2021 parliamentary elections on the opposition “Armenia” Alliance list and was detained shortly afterward under Pashinyan’s government on charges that included attempted electoral bribery.

Arushanyan remained in detention during the October 2021 Goris municipal election, where the “Arush Arushanyan” Alliance decisively defeated “Civil Contract.”

In March 2022, he was acquitted of the election-related charges but convicted on separate counts and barred for five years from holding a leadership position in local government. Later that year, he left the opposition “Reborn Armenia” party and declared himself non-partisan.

Over the following years, Arushanyan’s ties with Pashinyan’s political circle became increasingly public. In March 2026, he personally greeted and accompanied Pashinyan during a visit to Goris. During the June parliamentary campaign, Armenian media reported that Arushanyan was actively working in support of “Civil Contract,” and he was seen applauding Pashinyan at a campaign event in the city.

Meanwhile, the long-running effort to have Arushanyan imprisoned over his continued tenure as Goris community head was nearing its end. Shortly after the parliamentary elections, the Anti-Corruption Court rejected a request to replace his punishment with imprisonment, and prosecutors later lost their appeal. The timing prompted Armenian media to question whether developments in the case were connected to his growing cooperation with Pashinyan’s party, although no evidence of such an agreement has been made public.

The October 25 election will be held in an enlarged municipality formed by the merger of Goris, Tegh and Tatev, comprising 28 settlements.

Five years after defeating “Civil Contract” from detention, Arushanyan will now head an alliance with Pashinyan’s party in Goris.