Vanadzor and Ararat to be consolidated in Armenia: National Assembly adopts amendments in final reading
15.09.2026,
19:48
At its session on Tuesday, the Armenian Parliament adopted amendments to the laws "On the Administrative-Territorial Division of the Republic of Armenia" and "On Local Self-Government" in the second and final reading.
YEREVAN, September 15. /ARKA/. At its session on Tuesday, the Armenian Parliament adopted amendments to the laws "On the Administrative-Territorial Division of the Republic of Armenia" and "On Local Self-Government" in the second and final reading.
These amendments will create two new consolidated communities in Armenia – Vanadzor and Ararat.
61 deputies voted in favor, 29 against, and 0 abstained.
Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia Arnak Avetisyan announced at the meeting that the merger of the Vanadzor and Pambak communities in the Lori region will form a new enlarged community, Vanadzor, comprising 22 settlements. The merger of the Ararat and Vedi communities in the Ararat region will result in the formation of a new enlarged community, Ararat, comprising 32 settlements.
According to him, public hearings were held on the merger program with the participation of community representatives.
He stated that since 2016, two models—cluster and district—have been used in the community merger process.
"Local and international studies have shown that merging communities using the district model is more effective and contributes to a greater improvement in the quality of services provided by communities to citizens, strengthening community capacity, and more effectively implementing reforms in the community and local government sectors," Avetisyan said.
According to him, after the adoption of the legislative package, the number of communities in Armenia will be 62, 55 of which are densely populated.
These amendments will create two new consolidated communities in Armenia – Vanadzor and Ararat.
61 deputies voted in favor, 29 against, and 0 abstained.
Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia Arnak Avetisyan announced at the meeting that the merger of the Vanadzor and Pambak communities in the Lori region will form a new enlarged community, Vanadzor, comprising 22 settlements. The merger of the Ararat and Vedi communities in the Ararat region will result in the formation of a new enlarged community, Ararat, comprising 32 settlements.
According to him, public hearings were held on the merger program with the participation of community representatives.
He stated that since 2016, two models—cluster and district—have been used in the community merger process.
"Local and international studies have shown that merging communities using the district model is more effective and contributes to a greater improvement in the quality of services provided by communities to citizens, strengthening community capacity, and more effectively implementing reforms in the community and local government sectors," Avetisyan said.
According to him, after the adoption of the legislative package, the number of communities in Armenia will be 62, 55 of which are densely populated.
