L A W S
ELECTORAL CODE OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA
Adopted by the National
Assembly of the Republic of Armenia,
on February 5, 1999
Third Reading
P A R T O N E
Section one: GENERAL
PROVISIONS
CHAPTER FIVE
FUNDING OF THE ELECTIONS
Article 24: Funding for Organization
and Conduct of Elections
1. Expenses for organization and conduct of elections, including the compilation of the
voter lists, as well as the required expenses for the activities of electoral commissions
are covered by the state budget. Relevant expenses are envisaged by separate budget line
of the state budget.
2. The funds envisaged for elections are allocated to the Central Electoral Commission
within five days after the elections are assigned.
3. In the event of the conduct of extraordinary elections they are funded from the
reserve fund of the state budget, in the event of its impossibility they are funded from
the reserve of the Central Bank, on the condition that it is afterwards reimbursed from
the state budget.
If the budgetary funds are not allocated to the Central Electoral Commission in time,
or there are no funds available in the reserve of the Armenian Central Bank, or the
allocated means have not been sufficient, for funding the extraordinary elections or the
second round of the elections, then the Central Electoral Commission has the right to
receive a loan from private banks on competitive basis, on the condition, that the loan
will be paid off by the Government within 3 months time.
4. The Central Electoral Commission establishes the procedure for the distribution of
financial resources between the commissions. Chairmen of the electoral commissions manage
the financial resources and hold responsibility for the effective use of the financial
resources in the procedure established by the Central Electoral Commission.
Article 25: Pre-election fund
1. For the purpose of funding their pre-election campaign, candidates and parties have
the right to create a pre-election fund. The means of the election funds of the candidates
for the President of the Republic and parties are accumulated in the Central Bank of the
Republic of Armenia, and of the other candidates – in any bank, operating on the
territory of the Republic of Armenia (on a special account). The means of the pre-election
fund are managed by candidates and parties. Based on the written application of the
registered candidates and parties, banks open temporary special accounts. Revenues are not
accumulated or paid of these accounts.
Pre-election funds are formed from:
1). personal means of the candidate;
2). means allocated to the candidate by the party, which has nominated him/her;
3). own means of the party;
4). voluntary contributions by physical and legal persons.
2. The following have no right to make contributions to the election funds:
1). state and local self-governing bodies;
2). budgetary institutions (organizations);
3). foreign physical and legal persons;
4). persons without citizenship;
5). those economic organizations, in the charter or share capital of which the Republic
of Armenia or its communities have a share;
6). those organizations which have foreign means in the amount of more than 30 per cent
in their share capital;
7). charitable and religious organizations, international organizations and
international non-governmental movements.
The amounts paid to the pre-election funds by the above-mentioned physical and legal
persons are transferred to the state budget.
3. The Central Electoral Commission establishes the procedure for voluntary
contributions to the pr-election funds.
4. This Code establishes the maximum amount of contributions to the pre- election funds
by physical and legal persons. Contributions exceeding the established amount and the
money left in the pre-election funds after the elections are transferred to the state
budget.
5. Means of the pre-election funds are spent through proxies of the candidate and the
party.
6. Those banks, in which special temporary accounts have been opened, periodically
– every three days – submit a notice to the relevant electoral commission on the
contributions made to the pre-election funds of candidates and parties. These banks return
the amounts exceeding the maximum amounts established by this Code, to those having the
right of making contributions to the pre-election funds.
7. If the candidate or the party besides the means of the pre-election fund uses other
means for the pre-election campaign, the Court, based upon the application of the Central
Electoral Commission, recognizes the registration of the candidate or the party list as
void.
8. All the transactions connected with the accounts of candidates' and parties'
pre-election funds are terminated from the day of voting.
9. The Central Electoral Commission can allow candidates and parties to make payments
from the fund also after the voting day, for the transactions carried out before the day
of voting.
10. In the event of the elections being declared invalid, the means in the pre-election
funds are frozen until the registration of candidates and parties for the new elections.
The candidates and parties re-registered for new elections can use the means left in their
pre-election funds. In case the candidates or parties have not been registered for new
elections, the means left in their pre-election funds are transferred to the state budget.
11. Not later than one month after the elections the candidates and parties submit a
declaration to the electoral commissions that had registered them, on the use of the
available amounts in their pre-election funds. The Central Electoral Commission
establishes the specimen of the declaration and the procedure for its submission. The
declaration is published in the procedure established by the Central Electoral Commission.
Article 26: Oversight and Audit Service
An oversight-audit service is set up by the Chairman of the Central Electoral
Commission, within the Commission, since the designation of the election day, with a view
to implement oversight of the rational use of means allocated to the electoral commissions
for the organization and conduct of elections, as well as for the accounting of
contributions made to the election funds and oversight of those expenses. Relevant
specialists can be included in the work of the service on contractual basis. The procedure
for the activities of the oversight-audit service is established by the Central Electoral
Commission.
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