MAYOR OF YEREVAN TO BE ELECTED BY COUNCILLOR ACCORDING TO NEW BILL

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 19, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA draft law on "Self-government
and Territorial Administration in the city of Yerevan" was approved in
the October 18 sitting of the RA Government. According to the
information provided to journalists by Gevorg Danielian, the RA
Minister of Justice, after the sitting, preference was given to
indirect elections of the mayor of Yerevan by the bill. Thus, the mayor
is elected by the councillor by a proportional system.

The Minister stated that the provision, according to which the mayor
will be considered a self-governmental body and that of the territorial
administration at the same time, has been set in the bill. Thus, he
will bear responsibility first of all before the councillor of Yerevan.
In addition to this, the mayor will have new commissions other
self-governmental bodies do not have. There will be no district
community any longer: there will be 10 administrative regions, the
borders of which coincide with those of the current communities, except
Nubarashen, which will join Erebuni, and Nork Marash, which will join
Avan. In future the councillor of Yerevan can change the number of
those regions, which, however, cannot surpass 12 and be less than 8.

Gevorg Danielian mentioned that according to the bill the city
councillor is to have 55 members, as for the number of the members of
the councillors of regions, it will depend on the number of population:
if the number makes up to 75 thousnad, that of the councillor will be
10, in case of having a population up to 100 thousand, the number of
the members of the councillor will make 12, and if the population is
more than 100 thousand, then it will make 15. The Mayor of Yerevan will
appoint the heads of the administrative regions after consulting with
the councillors. The heads of the administrative regions will support
the mayor and the councillor.