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 ONE
FUNDAMENTAL PROVISIONS
Article 1: Electoral Bases
1. In accordance with Article 3 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia,
elections of the President, elections to the National Assembly, elections of the local
self-governing bodies of the Republic of Armenia are held through universal, equal, direct suffrage, by secret ballot.
2. Citizens of the Republic of Armenia having the right to vote participate
in elections directly, by the expression of free will, on voluntary basis.
3. The state encourages that the elections of the President of the Republic, elections
to National Assembly, local self-governing bodies
are held under competitive and alternative principles.
4. The state holds responsibility for the preparation, organization and conduct of
elections, and for the legality of elections.
Article 2: Citizens’ Electoral Right
1. The citizens of the Republic of Armenia who have attained the age of 18 years have
the right to vote.
2. During the preparation and conduct of the elections, the citizens of the Republic of
Armenia who live or are living outside Armenia, have the electoral right. The Diplomatic
and Consular Missions of the Republic of Armenia, in accordance with the procedures set by
this Code, guarantee the realization of the electoral right of Armenian citizens.
3. Citizens' electoral right is regulated by the Constitution of the Republic of
Armenia and this Code.
4. Disabled people, as well as the voters that have difficulty to participate in the
elections, arrive at the Precinct centers and participate in the voting according to the
procedure established by the Central Electoral Commission.
5. Citizens who have been recognized as incapacitated by a court ruling, as well as
those that have been sentenced to imprisonment and endure punishment by a court judgement
entered into legal force, cannot elect and be elected.
Article 3: Universal Suffrage
Citizens who have the right to vote, regardless of nationality, race, gender, language,
religion, political or other conceptions, social origin, property or other status have the
right to elect and be elected. Any restriction of the electoral right on the
above-mentioned bases is prosecuted by the law.
Article 4: Equal Electoral Right
1. Citizens participate in elections on equal basis.
2. Voters have equal votes.
3. The state ensures equal conditions for the exercise of the citizens' electoral
right.
Article 5: Direct Electoral Right
The President of the Republic, Deputies of the National Assembly, local self-governing
bodies are elected directly. Proxy voting is prohibited.
Article 6: Voting by Secret Ballot
Voting is by secret ballot. Oversight of the expression of voters' free will is
prohibited and is prosecuted by law.
Article 7: Transparency of Elections
1. Elections are prepared and conducted in a transparent way.
2. Decisions of electoral commissions, national government and local self-governing
bodies, related to the preparation and conduct of elections are published in the official
press, within three days after the decisions have been taken.
3. In the course of the sessions of the commissions and during the voting, in the way
prescribed by this Code, the state ensures the participation of proxies, observers and the
representatives of mass media, in the activities of electoral commissions and ensures
necessary and equal working conditions for them.
4. Three days before the elections of the President of the Republic and to the National
Assembly the Central Electoral Commission publishes the total number of the voters in the
Republic of Armenia.
5. In the procedure prescribed by this Code, citizens are informed about the
composition, location and working hours of Electoral Commissions, on the formation of
precincts and precinct centers, on the dates for presenting appeals about the inaccuracies
in the voter lists, on the nomination and registration of candidates, on the day of voting
and the election results.
6. On the voting day, the precinct electoral commissions shall transfer data to the
Regional Electoral Commissions periodically – every three hours – on the number
of voters that have participated in voting. Regional Electoral Commissions summarize these
data, make them public and periodically – every three hours – forward them to
the Central Electoral Commission. During national elections (with the exception of
elections of local self-governing bodies) the Central Electoral Commission, starting from
11:00 a.m., regularly announces the data on the number of voters that have participated in
the elections. The last data are made public not later than 11:00 p.m. The
Central Electoral Commission officially publishes the final data on
the number of voters that have participated in the elections on the next
day at 12:00 p.m.
7. During the sessions of the electoral commissions, as well as at any time during
the voting, proxies, accredited observers and the representatives of
mass media have the right to be present at the precinct center.
8. Immediately after the voting is completed, from 8:00 p.m. until the announcement of
the preliminary results of elections, periodically – every three hours – there
shall be live TV and radio transmission from the Central Electoral Commission.
Article 8: Expenses for Preparation and Conduct of Elections
1. Expenses for preparation and conduct of elections (including those for the
compilation and maintenance of voter lists) shall be borne from the state budget.
2. The procedure for the expenses of candidates in the period of the pre-election
campaign and their reimbursement is determined by this Code.
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