Abstract

The thriving democratic societies are built on trust and equity in the use of resources, for the benefit of the citizenry, through good governance. Good governance, in fact, is an active and continuous process and involves the reformulating itself to adapt to the new realities, new challenges of society, new challenges of technology, and new challenges of the world order. The push toward good governance is more recent, specifically in Armenia, and this drive is focused on transparency, accountability, and citizen participation. It outlines the changes in the Armenian governance system and explains the core principles, reforms, and initiatives that affected it and its prospects. The change of governance in Armenia has developed from larger trends in democratization and modernization of institutions. Since independence, the 1990s were a period of serious reforms: Armenia had made a transition from the previous Soviet system towards the international standard. Much of the drive is centered around transparency and accountability through e-governance or public administration reform initiatives. That can include e-government platforms, open data policies, and participatory mechanisms that provide opportunities for citizens to express their preferences in terms of improved service delivery and enhanced democratic oversight. The article emphasizes the development of transparency and accountability in governance within Armenia and underlines the ongoing reform efforts that should follow. If Armenia puts its citizen-centered governance into full gear by using the opportunities offered by technology and working in concert with partners, it could establish a viable, inclusive, and equitable democracy. Several actions are required that would require political will, the participation of civil society, and a commitment to good governance. That could lay down the foundation for the bright days in which Armenia will see transparency and accountability become an ideal rather than a wish that turns into reality in the lives of all its citizens.

Background: Good governance remains an imperative in development because it offers countries a chance to boost economic growth, enhance human capital, and seek social cohesion. Today, the flamboyant nature of the role of government and the process of governance is one of the most apparent and critical problems. The government should somehow be made accountable for every step it takes because people always want some prioritization of the interest of the society in the process. The World Governance Indicators shed light on the similar patterns of perceptions of governance quality across countries and time. Among the strengths of Armenia are good public health service and drinking water coverage as well as high sanitary standards. Respect for the rights of citizens is at middle level, with political rights slightly above. Weaknesses included environmental issues, the level of education, the information sector including e-governance, and freedom of information.^[1]

Armenia's state governance system, the first phase of which began in 1990s, has gone through several reformation stages. The successful development of large institutions on this basis made the launching introduced proper policies for The Country. Over the years, governance system has been upgraded and enhanced with the integration of up-to-date (Electronic) governance systems that are consistent with a market economy.

The Armenian government is now a lot more open and decisive in its actions.

Over the last three decades, as part of institutional reforms introduced to fundamentally change the (public administration) in Armenia from its inception (1990s) leading toward governance.

Many initiatives and strategies were introduced to achieve a governance system over the last three decades which is the end product.

They are reforms that, for example establish market-based governance structures and disseminate electronic governance instruments.

Over the duration, the Armenian government stepped forward and became more transparent in its actions.

Armenia's Public Financial Management (PFM) Strategy 2019-2023^[2] envisions significant reforms to improve transparency, efficiency and accountability in public financial management. The strategy is directed towards improving budget planning, improving fiscal discipline and ensuring efficient resource allocation. Measures have also been taken to improve transparency in financial reporting, modernize tax administration by digitalization, and improve public procurement procedures to ensure fairness and competitiveness. Moreover, the reforms were aligned with international financial management standards, once again confirming Armenia's adherence to good governance. Through the reforms, institutional capacity and efficiency in public financial management have considerably increased.^[3]

Armenia joined the Open Government Partnership (OGP)^[4] in 2011 and is working to advance transparency, accountability and citizen engagement in government. Armenia is advancing public sector transparency, anti-corruption and e-governance through several national action plans. These efforts are components of Armenia's broader good governance reforms, encouraging institutional integrity and public trust.

In line with good governance, Armenia is pursuing ambitious anti-corruption action plans aimed at enhancing transparency, accountability, and integrity in the public administration.

The Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan 2019-2022 will consolidate institutional arrangements, enhance corruption prevention mechanisms, and promote public sector integrity. Taking forward the advancements, the Action Plan 2023-2026 seeks further to enhance investigative capacity, whistleblower protection, and public sector integrity.

These consistent reforms strengthen Armenia's commitment to combating corruption and ensuring just and transparent government.

In 2024, in Armenia, the process of evaluation of the OECD/SIGMA program began, which was a significant step in the direction of promoting public administration reforms. The evaluation is aimed at examining public administration effectiveness, public service quality and institutional transparency for ensuring continuity of reforms and their alignment with international standards.^[5]

Transparency is the most essential pillar of good governance, making government processes, decision-making, and information available to the public. Transparancy limits room for corruption, enhances public trust, and enables citizens to actively participate in decision-making. In Armenia, several key initiatives reflect this commitment.

• Laws for Transparency & Open Data - Armenia has laid a good legal foundation for all citizens to get information from government and making official documents transparent as well as give citizens opportunities to control policies, officials accountability. 

• E-governance initiatives (public services through digital tools such as e-gov.am and e-draft.am), that help optimize citizen use of already public services and cut the bureaucratic inefficiency/probability for corruption arisen from this.

• Open Data Policy : Government initiative "open data" providing information what Government spent on, procured and where project implementation takes place, making civil society, journalists and researchers able to follow governance much better.

Thus, Armenia consolidated reforms in public administration enhancing transparency and institutional integrity as a legacy to modernize all fields within the world best-practice of open govnerance and accountability.

Accountability is a cornerstone of good governance, where those in public office are responsible for what they do and what they make decisions. It is in line with democratic values and makes sure that public power is used for the benefit of the general public.

Armenia undergoes different reforms for accountability Enhancement of Public Participation : E-draft.am and different consultation platforms through which citizens can take part in the policy-making and serve government accountability.

Good governance reforms in Armenia is about driving transparency and responsiveness to citizen needs by making the voice of public administration- citizen-friendly. This strategy is made of the involvement of public through e-draft.am and other platforms. 

The transition to the availability of public services has also been the focus, as well as easing of government processes through digitalization. Accountability and oversight institutions are also being bolster in order to give de-institutionizm a boost to transparent governance. In order to prioritise citizen engagement and service delivery Armenia is moving towards a more democratic, accountable and people first administration. 

eCourt-statistics is a statistical analysis tool being developed within the framework of the Armenian Open Government Partnership Action Plan 2022-2024 (OGP). Its purpose is to increase the transparency and accountability of the judiciary by making available full statistics of pre-trial criminal proceedings and court case handling. The purpose is to facilitate electronic document management between law enforcement and justice agencies, automate administrative processes, and promote the adoption of a uniform electronic systems management policy by the justice community. By implementing the eCourt-statistics system, Armenia aims to improve data collection, save resources and simplify administrative procedures, thereby strengthening public confidence in the judicial system. By improving data collection and resource management, this tool will also contribute to the further digitalization of Armenia's judicial system. Ultimately, this helps to strengthen public confidence in the judicial system and create a more transparent and effective legal environment.

One of the most important things in the spotlight of Armenia's good governance is the civil service system reform, to increase not only efficiency but also professionalism and integrity within public service (administration) will be effective. These improvements necessarily involve the use of digital tools, the reinforcement of the practiceof getting promotions depending on competency test scores, and the codifying of ethical principles of government employees.

Transparency and accountability are the areas where Armenia has made impressive progress. Indeed, also the challenges are not lacking. Besides guaranteeing the sustainability of reforms, dealing with resistance from the old guard and informing the public are essentials for the long-term success. While technology plays a significant role in this context, constant training and the creation of a culture of accountability are the key factors for success.

Armenia is having a head-on clash with limitations and issues that are preventing

the full florishment of the transparency and accountability of good governance. Low level of public awareness and engagementis now a major issue as large proportions of the public are not acquainted with such participatory platforms as e-draft.am which is a major disadvantage to them as it contributes to the reduction of their voices to be heard in the decision-making process. 

Furthermore, the slow bureaucraticprocedures and digital gaps in Armenia are yet to be eliminated to allow the greater provision of quality and publicly available services, especially in rural areas, where the lack of infrastructure is noticeable.

To guarantee governance reforms remain sustainable in the future, Armenia has to focus on those problems which still remain as well as to adopt tools that reinforce the institutional framework for transparency, accountability, and public participation.

Civil service reform is also inseparable with the effective governance program in Armenia aiming at enhancing efficiency of public administration personnel, professionalism and integrity. The reforms intended to improve Human Resource Management and recruitment, selecting the best on merit and raising the standards for public officials in terms of integrity.

Armenia has made great strides transparency and accountability. But, there are issues. We also need to ensure that reforms are sustainable, resist chronic resistance of entrenched interests and education of the public at large for future success. The way to vanquish these is technology wise usage, constant capacity building and an accountability culture.

There are certain obstacles and challenges that stand in the way of Armenia to fully recognizing the pillars of good governance. This is one serious challenge because a large section of the public remain unaware of these platforms e-draft.am and therefore their contribution to power state decision-making is very little. Also, the limited and low quality of public services accessed by population are subject to inefficiency of bureaucracy as well as to inadequate digital technology potential, which hinder the efficient delivery especially in Armenia's developing rural regions.

To sustain the reform in governance, Armenia must address outstanding issues and strengthen mechanisms for transparency, accountability and participation within institutions as well.

The less than ideal functioning of bureaucracy (inefficiency) and problems in transparency machinery continues to make any good governance difficult. Without increased oversight of government, the watchdog function which civil society has been exercising will not be sustained to mitigate corruption risks in an ongoing manner. Armenia should work towards civil society empowerment through the backing of non-governmental organizations and media as free stakeholders of their observation Moving ahead, perhaps it should educated the citizens more about their rights and obligations showcased in all measure, to build a culture around civic engagement higher.

Also, Joint governance (triangulation between Government, Private sector and civil society) will drive novel and sustainable solutions for difficult problems.

A central pillar of Armenia's democratic development, and commitment to good governance/assets and transparency/accountability needs to be sustained transformation.

Conclusion

Making governance transparent and accountable in the transformation process in Armenia to establish a real sustainable and inclusive democracy. This was achieved with initiatives like e-governance platforms, anti-corruption strategies, participatory mechanisms like e-draft.am, all intended to modernize entirely public administration and improve citizens' engagement. In this way, the country could boast of having been progressing along the adoption of international best practices and stretching its arms to meet society's emerging needs. Such a path is, however, far from being complete. There are still challenges like bureaucratic bottlenecks, digital disparities, and unharnessed public awareness that need to be fully conquered to ensure sustainability of reforms. Civil society will be amplified in oversight. The institutional capacities will be strengthened, creating a culture of accountability.

In the future, Armenia should be focusing on making continuous improvement in the areas of civil service reform, public financial management and public administration reform. Collaboration with international partners will be very important, along with active participation of citizens, for government innovations and for continuous relevance of governance reforms to society. By adhering to the principles of transparency and accountability, Armenia would be able to create a system of governance that would not only be held against global standards but also would bear tangible fruits to its citizens, thus paving the way to a future more equitable and prosperous. By committing itself to the requirements of transparency and accountability, Armenia can thus begin to build a more inclusive, fair and sustainable democratic system. Action must be taken now-thus let us join hands in forging good governance from mere aspiration to reality for all Armenians.

Author: Tehmine Papoyan, MA in Business Law and International Arbitration, Nexus Intellect Research NGO

[1] https://countryeconomy.com/demography/spi/armenia

[2] https://www.arlis.am/DocumentView.aspx?docid=159219 

[3] https://minfin.am/en/page/public_finance_management_reforms_archive/ 

[4] https://ogp.gov.am/en 

[5] https://radar.am/en/news/social-2664217150/