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“The amendment to the Law on Local Self-Government is intended to eliminate the power vacuum that may arise in cases where we encounter a situation where the Community Council of Elders has prematurely terminated its powers as a result of inaction or failure to fulfill its functions, and in that situation the community head and his deputy are absent,” the key rapporteur, the Chair of the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs Vladimir Vardanyan said, presenting the draft authored by the deputies Anush Kloyan and Emma Palyan and him.

Let us note that at present, there exists such situation. In particular, following the joint resignation of the Head of the Gyumri community and 14 members of the Council of Elders, as well as the deputy heads of the community, a governance crisis has arisen in the community, the resolution of which will likely result in the need to organize special elections for the Council of Elders in Gyumri within the deadlines set by legislation. And in order to organize elections, it will be necessary for the given community to have a community leader or acting community leader.

The draft proposes to add Article 27 of the Law On Local Self-Government with a new provision, according to which. in the event of prematurely termination of the powers of the Council of Elders by the RA Government, if the position of the community head is vacant and at the same time the position of the deputy community head is vacant or there are circumstances that impede the exercise of his/her powers by the deputy community head, then after the early termination of the powers of the Council of Elders, within three working days, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia shall appoint an Acting Head of a community comprising urban settlements, and the regional governor shall appoint an Acting Head of a community consisting exclusively of rural settlements, until the newly elected community head assumes his powers in accordance with the procedure established by law.

The amendment will regulate the issue of prematurely termination of the powers of the community Council of Elders by the decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia and, at the same time, the appointment of an Acting Community Head in the absence of the head of the given community or his acting head.

Presenting the positive position of the Government, the RA Minister of Justice Srbuhi Galyan noted that the version chosen by the authors is not an innovation for the legislation; there are a number of situations when, in the event that the position of the community head or his/her deputy remains vacant, the Prime Minister appoints an acting head in urban communities, and the regional governor - in rural communities.

The Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Territorial Administration, Local-Self Government, Agriculture and Environment Protection Vahe Ghalumyan presented the endorsement of the Committee.

On behalf of the Armenia Faction the Secretary Artsvik Minasyan delivered a speech. According to him, in terms of constitutional regulations, the presenting proposal does not correspond with the principle of the local self-government. The Secretary of the Faction informed they were vote against the draft.

According to the Head of the Civil Contract Faction Hayk Konjoryan, the presenting regulation is an amendment aimed at crisis management. “Here we perform the function of firefighters, and that fire was not our fault,” he noted.

In their final speeches, the co-rapporteurs the RA Minister of Justice Srbuhi Galyan, the Chair of the NA Standing Committee on Territorial Administration, Local-Self Government, Agriculture and Environment Protection Vahe Ghalumyan, the key rapporteur, the Chair of the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs Vladimir Vardanyan presented clarifications on the sounded concerns.

The deputies debated the draft law and passed it also in the second reading and completely.