The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) today announced it will not field a separate list of candidates in the September 17 Yerevan Municipal Council election.

The ARF, in a statement, writes the party’s policy was to field candidates as part of a unified opposition alliance but that efforts to achieve such a bloc have failed to date.

Yesterday, former Yerevan mayor Hayk Marutyan announced his candidacy for the post of mayor. He’ll lead a list of candidates of the National Progress party.

Yerevan Deputy Mayor Tigran Avinyan will head the list of the ruling Civil Contract party.

The newly created Mother Armenian movement, led by the parliamentary opposition Hayastan (Armenia) faction MP Andranik Tevanyan, will also field candidates in the municipal election.

Opposition blocs linked to former president Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan have yet to announce whether they will participate in the election.