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The member organizations of the EaP CSF Armenian National Platform regularly review the progress of reforms implemented in the local self-government system of the Republic of Armenia. As a result periodic analyses are made and are presented to the RA relevant authorities, as well as are publicized through the media. One of these analyses was presented on September 11, 2017 at the conference of the EaP CSF Armenian National Platform on “Civil society engagement in the administrative-territorial reforms in Armenia”.

The following conclusions were recorded during that discussion:

• the Republic of Armenia is one of the countries with the lowest level of decentralization, despite the fact that the local authorities are the closest to the people and they should have a wide range of competences and powers as well as sufficient financial resources to implement them;
• administrative-territorial reforms launched as a long process of research, discussions, based on the rules and requirements set out in the adopted concept, have been transformed into a large-scale and spontaneous political program, which is implemented without compromising the “game rules” defined by the concept and without taking into account the lessons learned;
• maps and list of the newly formed municipalities are extremely subjective, and the absence of logic suggests that they were drawn “behind the closed doors”;
• there are no guarantees for identity preservation of the settlements included in the enlarged municipalities and for assurance of proportion of their needs and the existing resources within the municipality;
• no practical steps have been taken to establish inter-municipal unions;
• the transition to the system of proportional representation in Yerevan, Gyumri and Vanadzor municipalities suggests the transition to this in the entire system of local self-government. Being elected by the community council, mayor loses the obligation to be responsible and accountable to municipality residents;
• the existing procedure of community council election does not provide an opportunity for the nomination of civic initiatives and groups of individuals, who do not wish to appear in any political union. It was clearly stated in the Venice Commission’s recommendations on the Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia in regard to it;
• there is no clear vision for local self-government in Armenia, as a result there is no clear understanding of the minimum effective size of the newly created municipality and the acceptable level of the decentralization of powers. There is no “decentralization roadmap”, which clearly states the terms and the scope of powers delegated to municipalities and inter-municipal unions.

Taking into consideration the above mentioned, the EaP CSF Armenian National Platform considers it necessary to demand from the Armenian Authorities:

• immediately present to the public a preliminary map of the new administrative division of the RA, according to which the reform process will be implemented;
• each step taken within the administrative reform should be brought into a discussion among civil society, affected municipalities and other stakeholders;
• develop and put into practice a tool that will enable settlements included in a multi-settlement municipality to preserve their identity by ensuring the proportion between their needs and existing resources within municipality;
• develop a new empowerment strategy or roadmap for municipalities with indicated detailed steps and clear timeframes for decentralization of powers;
• use the institute of inter-municipal unions in the decentralization process;
• form an election system that will enable civic initiatives to run for community council elections and ensure their presence in the Community Council while not being included in any political union;
• get rid of the vicious experience of electing a mayor by the community council.

14.10.2017