The State Oversight Service doesn’t have the power to conduct inspections in communities. This is what President of the Union of Communities of Armenia Emin Yeritsyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am, responding to the question on whether the visits of Head of the State Oversight Service of Armenia Davit Sanasaryan to provinces are lawful or not.

“Paying a visit to a province is one thing, and overseeing a community is another thing. The Service doesn’t have the power to do that,” he said.

The president of the Union of Communities of Armenia also stressed the fact that it is wrong to label all the heads of communities. According to him, demanding the resignation of a particular village head is also unlawful. “If a person has been elected, he or she has to perform his or her duties until the end of the term of office. If there is a problem and somebody in the community believes the head of the community has misused power, that person has to address law-enforcement authorities.”

According to him, protests in communities and the hindrances to implementation of local self-governance are relatively new and create instability in communities.

What also concerns the president of the Union of Communities of Armenia is the fact that there is still no law on territorial administration and, as a result, governors are in a legal vacuum. “Ever since the new president was sworn in last year, the decrees of the first president on territorial administration are no longer in effect. The National Assembly had to pass a law on territorial administration. This means that governors carry out activities by making references to different sector-specific laws.”