Final Administrative Division Results in 78 Communities in Armenia

As a result of the final administrative division, Armenia will have 78 communities. This was announced by Vahe Terteryan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, during the discussions in the National Assembly regarding the draft amendments to the law on the administrative-territorial division of the Republic of Armenia.

"Out of the 78 communities, 71 will be merged, 1 will be Yerevan, and there will be 6 unmerged communities, one of which will be Gyumri, while the other 5 will be communities populated by national minorities, which we are not addressing at this moment," Terteryan stated.

It is noteworthy that on September 24, 2021, at 11:00 AM, an extraordinary session of the National Assembly will be convened at the initiative of the Government of Armenia, during which the draft of amendments and additions to the law on the administrative-territorial division of the Republic of Armenia will be discussed in the first and second readings.

The draft submitted to the National Assembly envisions the consolidation of 69 communities in Aragatsotn Province, 105 in Ararat Province, 82 in Armavir Province, 62 in Gegharkunik Province, 43 in Lori Province, 30 in Kotayk Province, 40 in Shirak Province, 5 in Vayots Dzor Province, and 3 in Tavush Province.

As a result of the mergers, 37 communities will be formed. In addition, there is a proposal to include the village of Urkenants in the list of settlements of the Kapan community in Syunik Province, which was received from the head of the Kapan community.

The changes are justified by the ongoing process of community consolidation that began in 2016 and has not yet been completed. Since February 14, 2016, 54 consolidated communities have been formed as a result of the merging of 486 communities in Armenia.

After the approval of the amendments to the law, new extraordinary elections for the community council will be scheduled in the newly formed communities. According to the decision of the CEC, local government elections will be held this year on October 17, November 14, and December 5.