SPECIAL LAW ON A SPECIAL PROCEDURE

Panorama.am
17:43 03/12/2007

The National Assembly session decided today that the draft law on
local self-government and territorial management in Yerevan as well
as relating documents will be discussed on a special procedure. The
main rapporteur on the package will be provided one hour of time for
his speech. Suggestions may be submitted until March 15, 2008. Davit
Harutunyan, chairman of standing committee on state and legal issues,
said parliamentary hearings will be invited to discuss the bill.

The bill defines the peculiarities, principles, structure, powers
and other details of local self-government and territorial management
in Yerevan.

The draft envisages having indirect election order for the mayor of
Yerevan and a two level system for local self-government to ensure
the link between the local self-government and the public. The mayor
will have local self-government and delegated authorities.

The 65 member elders will be the highest body of local self-government
with powers to supervise the activities of the mayor. This body
controls the execution of the budget and approves the annual report
on the performance of the budget. In case one of the participating
political parties receives more than 50 percent of votes of the members
of Yerevan elders, the first person on the party list becomes the
mayor of Yerevan. The bill also is an attempt to clarify the powers
of the heads of the administrative units of Yerevan and the mayor.