In Armenia women’s representation in local self-governing bodies has reached the minimum / infographic

According to 2019 data provided to WomenNet.am by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development, the representation of women has decreased in the local self-governing bodies. Both the community head and the members of the council have lost their positions in comparison with 2016.

In general, since 2002, the number of women heads of community is the lowest in 2019, making up 1.6%. For the past 17 years this index has never been lower than 2%, and in 2008 it was 2.5%.

For example, if in 2016, 17 out of 793 communities or 2.02% were headed by women, according to 2019, only 8 out of 502 communities are headed by women.

They were Ararat region Verin Dvin (Petrova Lyudmila), Vagharshapat (Diana Gasparyan), Arevashat (Susanna Gevorgyan), Artamet (Anahit Davtyan), Geghakar (Karine Martirosyan) of Gegharkunik Marz, Bazum (Srbuhi Harutyunyan) of Lori Region, New Kotayk Region Yerznka (Alina Harutyunyan), Amasia (Jemma Harutyunyan), Shirak Region’s largest community.

There are no women leaders in Aragatsotn, Tavush, Vayots Dzor and Syunik.

Women’s representation in the councils has also dropped dramatically. In 2019, 9.3% of the community council members are women. For comparison, it should be noted that in 2016 the representation of women in councils was 11.7%.

Women have a greater representation in the community councils of Lori, Ararat and Armavir, respectively, 15.88%, 13.58%, 12.55%. The lowest women’s representation in the communities of Gegharkunik is 3.29%. In general, the representation of women has dropped significantly in the regions where the process of enlargement of communities has become more active.

In the Council of Elders, women have a greater representation in Yerevan, Gyumri and Vanadzor, where local elections are held by proportional electoral system. The representation of women in the Council of Elders in Yerevan is the largest in all elective bodies – 32%. Women in the two major cities of Shirak regional center Gyumri and Lori region Vanadzor, constitute 24%.

In conclusion, let us assert that women’s representation in the local self-governing bodies is only ensured by the proportional representation in the Council of Elders, and in general, the main reason for the reduction of women’s involvement in local self-governing bodies is the process of enlargement of communities.