Deputy: The authorities` actions against local government bodies are reminiscent of Soviet times

ArmInfo. The Armenian authorities' actions against local government bodies are unconstitutional and reminiscent of Soviet times. Mamikon Aslanyan, a member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia from the Strong Armenia opposition faction, told reporters this on October 7.

According to him, these actions are evidence of a disdainful attitude toward local government bodies in general.

"We are not returning to electoral decentralization, community development, and increased independence, but to building a pyramidal system that reminds me of the Soviet Union," Mamikon Aslanyan said, commenting on the upcoming Goris local government elections held by the ruling Civil Contract party. in alliance with the current mayor of the city, Arush Arushanyan.

According to Mamikon Aslanyan, the government of RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is demonstrating an extremely unconstructive and generally non-competitive attitude toward local government bodies. "Therefore, I consider it pointless to evaluate what is distorted and what does not correspond to the principles of local self-government recognized by Armenia within the framework of the European Charter. Certain electoral processes will take place in the communities, but I cannot say whether they can be called elections or a show," he noted.

Commenting on the statements of representatives of the Civil Contract Regarding the ruling party's lack of power in many communities, Mamikon Aslanyan said the problem is that even the process of community consolidation, which is essentially a positive process, has been turned by the authorities into a process based on political tastes and expediency, as exemplified by the situation in Echmiadzin, which was consolidated, and the same thing happened in Vanadzor. "Without measurable comparisons, without assessing effectiveness, they went and consolidated Vanadzor along with the Pambak community. Because of me, they included Vanadzor in the consolidation process in 2021 and lost. Today, they still think that if they annex new villages to Vanadzor, they will succeed. "I consider this a counterproductive process, because de jure consolidation never took place in Vanadzor, and the constitutional order in the field of local self-government in this city was destroyed," the opposition leader said.

Speaking about pressure on community leaders and the criminal cases brought, Mamikon Aslanyan stated that the authorities adhere to double standards in all their political statements. "They have no principles to guide them. Naturally, they use various methods of pressure: criminal proceedings, threats of illegal property claims, etc. The authorities are so confused that they confuse the legal and the illegal. The prime minister has answers to any situation, which may not stem from objective reality. "In other words, they stem from their political whims and the situation at any given moment, and they manage to resolve the issue with justifiable justifications," said Mamikon Aslanyan.

As a reminder, local government elections are being held in Armenia in several stages this fall. On September 27, 2026, voting took place in four communities: Tumanyan, Lermontovo, Ferik, and Arzni. According to the decision of the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Armenia, the next large-scale local government elections will be held on October 25, 2026, in 21 communities: Artashat, Armavir, Araks, as well as Gavar, Martuni, Vardenis, Stepanavan, Garni, Tsaghkadzor, Hrazdan, Artik, and others. Depending on the size of the community, elections are held either by proportional lists (by parties and blocs) or by the majoritarian system.