CONTRADICTORY APPROACHES

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Former head of Nor-Nork community, to date deputy Mkrtich Minasyan considers that the authorities of the local self-government bodies should be extended as the main principles of the state are formation of state system do not contrast.

Mkrtich Minasyan says that the local community council should be given the authority to express distrust to the head of the community. Despite some attempts took place no single community head was dismissed in this way. He does not share the opinion that the appointed body should keep under control an elective one. «They should be separated: the governor of the region (marzpet) is the body of territorial government while the local self-government is a separate public body with its property, the activity of which is regulated by the Constitution and acting laws. It seems to us that there is a vertical structure called government -marzpetaran-community but it is not so. It is horizontal structure and there are responsibilities entrusted to the local self-government bodies while marzpetaran is only to control the activities.

According Mkrtich Minasyan the most optimal drafts of constitutional amendments in regards to the local self-government bodies are submitted by the coalition and People’s Deputy group. Head of Kentron community Gagik Beglaryan holds quite an opposite opinion. When we asked him to express attitude to this issues he invited us to the community office, where we met about 50 people in the waiting room. Not sufficiently provided resident of the community turned to Beglaryan with various requests

In the words of Gagik Beglaryan, the people are directly communicating with the community head however the latter does not possess the authority or instruments as the major part of the budget was formed two years ago when the city community was empowered to collect the property tax. According to him, 100 million AMD is annually paid to the citizens out of the property tax. Beglaryan considers that the Mayor of Yerevan should be elected while head of the city communities – appointed, as they are to be functionaries. The Mayor, who is well familiarized with the concerns of his electorate, should govern. If the city is too big for governing and the Mayor elected by the residents can become a counterbalance to the President the borders of the city can be cut and the outskirts of the city can be transformed into suburbs. Gagik Beglaryan is convinced that democratization should start with the strengthening of the local self-government and the formation of the local community council as the counterbalance.

Diana Markosyan