ArmInfo.Armenia intends to make the transition to a proportional electoral system in elections to local authorities. On May 25, the corresponding bill was introduced by the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Suren Papikyan during the sitting of the RA NA Standing Committee on Territorial Administration, Local Government, Agriculture and Nature Protection.
He noted that the draft law proposes in communities whose number of voters exceeds 4 thousand people to introduce a proportional electoral system. Papikyan noted that this issue was given particular importance, but there were nuances related to the difference in the timing of the election of elders and heads of communities. <From now on, the issue will be resolved, since this provision will allow choosing an elder who will work from the moment he takes office, and the head of the community, who was elected through the majority system, will remain at his post until the end of the term. After that, the elders will elect a new head of the community on their own. Thus, we will be able to make a smooth transition to a proportional electoral system>, - he explained.
In the event that the term of office of the head of the community expires, and there are no elders, the election of a new head of the community will not take place, and the powers of the latter will be performed by the acting person until their completion date.
After which the Council of Elders will elect a new head of the community, the minister said. In addition, he said, changes are proposed in terms of the number of members of the Council of Elders, the size of the electoral deposit, and the procedure for the formation of election funds.
Another bill proposes in the process of distribution of mandates to lower the minimum threshold for parties from the current 6% to 4%, and for political blocs - from 8% to 6%. At the same time, only 3 political forces will be able to take part in this process.
the highest number of votes. "These are important bills that will lead to significant changes in the process of elections of local governments, which will become more politicized, and political parties represented on the councils of elders will have the opportunity to contribute to the development of communities," he emphasized.