NEW BILL ON YEREVAN ENVISAGES ELECTED COUNCIL OF ELDERS AND MAYOR ELECTED AMONG MEMBERS OF COUNCIL OF ELDERS

NOYAN TAPAN

Ju ly 8

The basis of the new law On Yerevan is the model of elected Council
of Elders consisting of 65 members. Vache Terterian, the RA Deputy
Minister of Territorial Administration, said at the July 8 press
conference. According to him, the bill also envisages that the Mayor
and the First Deputy Mayor are elected by the Council of Elders
among its members. The Council of Elders should be elected with
four years’ term as the RA Constitution envisages and the members
of the Council of Elders should be elected only by proportional
party lists. However, according to the Minister, the exclusion of
the majoritarian electoral system does not mean that non-partisans
cannot be included in proportional lists.

V. Terterian said that a political force receiving 40% plus one
vote in the Council of Elders elections will have an absolute
majority. According to him, it is noteworthy that the Council of
Elders, if it has the proper bases, will have a possibility to express
political distrust to the Mayor by nominating and electing another
candidate at the same sitting on the same day. If no new candidate is
nominated or the voting does not take place for this or that reason,
according to the Deputy Minister, the current Mayor will be kept on
his post, and since that the Council of Elders will not have a right
to express distrust to him for a one-year term.

The new bill also establishes that the heads of Yerevan communities
(Prefects) should be appointed by the Mayor. Answering to the question
of why elected Prefects should become appointed when the Mayor will
be elected, V. Terterian said: "We consider Yerevan as a whole,
therefore we consider that an elected Mayor should be responsible for
everything happening in the capital." He said that the bill will be
submitted for second reading at the National Assembly autumn session.