Friday, September 15 2023 18:27

ArmInfo. Elections to the Council of Elders of Yerevan will be held in a free, fair and transparent atmosphere.  Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of Armenia Gnel Sanosyan stated during a meeting with the delegation of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe , headed by Carla Dejonghe.

The minister emphasized that enough attention was paid to the  preparation and organizational work for holding elections so that  everything complied with the Electoral Code.

Minister Sanosyan assured that during the election campaign, all  political forces participating in the elections had equal  opportunities to present their ideas and election programs to voters,  debates were organized, and information campaigns were conducted.  "All this indicates that there was a fairly good environment for the  election campaign," the minister emphasized.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Territorial  Administration and Infrastructure, members of the delegation asked  the head of the department about the organization of the electoral  process, as well as the decentralization policy implemented as a  result of administrative-territorial reforms in the field of local  self-government.

Elections to the Council of Elders of Yerevan will be held on  September 17, which will be held according to the proportional  election system. Voters will elect 65 members of the Council of  Elders, who, in turn, will elect the mayor of the capital of Armenia.  Invitations to participate in the elections to the Council of Elders  as observers were sent to electoral bodies in 20 countries and 5  international organizations.

The   Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of  Europe is one of the three main divisions of the Council of Europe  (CoE). By its status, the Committee for the European Union is a  consultative body of the Council of Europe, consisting of  representatives of local and regional authorities of the member  states of the Council of Europe. The Committee of Ministers (CMCE)  and the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) consult with the  Congress of  Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe on issues  that may affect the competence and main interests of local and  regional authorities of European countries. The  Congress of Local  and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe consists of 306  members and 306 alternates, representing local and regional  authorities from 46 member states of the Council of Europe.