Communities Rely on Government Subsidies, Says Papikyan

Suren Papikyan proposes that the further consolidation of communities be referred to as unification. In a conversation with journalists, Minister Papikyan stated that the merging of communities will continue; they are currently defining the mechanisms for how to proceed so that it is not enforced, but rather a conscious choice.

When asked about the possibility of a referendum, Papikyan mentioned that if an initiative group is formed in a community to gather signatures for a referendum and sufficient signatures are secured, that community will naturally follow that path.

“One thing is clear: the majority of small communities depend on the government, and the current vision of community decentralization and equitable development does not support this. Right now, communities rely on government subsidies. This means that if the government does not provide a subsidy today, a self-proclaimed community cannot solve its basic problems, such as paying salaries to its staff,” he said, adding that consolidated communities are able to manage these issues.

When asked about potential personnel changes and whether they are satisfied with community leaders, Papikyan stated, “The position of community leader is elected; we may be satisfied or dissatisfied with any community leader, but the stakeholder is the resident of that community, and it is the resident who decides who will be their community leader. My call to community residents is to be consistent in electing a person with the relevant knowledge for the position of community leader.”

He emphasized that his vision for local government elections is to have a proportional electoral system, so that the council selects the community leader from among its members and can also dismiss them if necessary.