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Today, on the occasion of the Local Self Government Day in Armenia, a reception under "New Armenia - Renewed Communities" was held, attended by heads of a number of urban and rural communities in Armenia.

During the reception, within the framework of the "Best Community of the Year" award Sevan city of Gegharkunik region was recognized as the best urban community and Garni community of Kotayk region was recognized as the best rural community. Goris was the community in best condition while Echmiadzin and Gavar were the cleanest communities.

Chairman of the Union of Communities of Armenia Emin Yeritsyan told journalists that the prizes are even more significant because the ceremony is held on the Local Self Government Day in Armenia.
"This year, we are celebrating the 22nd anniversary of local self-government in Armenia, with a new slogan – new communities in new Armenia. The winner Sevan, for example, has had good initiatives since last year in terms of improvement and management and a new economic program. Overall, we received only 49 applications from a total of 502 communities," Yeritsyan said, adding that the award ceremony has been held since 2006.

When asked by a Panorama.am reporter, how he will assess the process of enlargement of the local self-governing bodies, Emin Yeritsyan noted that a political decision should be made on that issue.
"Any political decision is considered insufficient when the opinion of the residents is not taken into account. Both the European Charter and Armenian legislation state that the opinion of residents should be taken into consideration," he said.

The Acting Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Development Vache Terteryan, in turn, noted that the history of 22 years of local self-government is enough for drawing conclusions, but on the other hand it is quite a young age to record that we have achieved what we have been looking for.
"We have a lot to do, we are a dynamically developing system that responds quickly to changes. We also have considerable achievements, a well-organized team, good local government professionals and a qualified expert community. We must be able to respond effectively to existing problems. For already 22 years, we have local democracy, which is one of the pillars of our country's development, "said Vache Terteryan.