Home > 2 Organising the elections > ARMENIA- Joint Opinion on the Election Code
 
 
 
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Paragraph 40
 

Article 78(1) provides that presidential candidates “who are in state service or work in local self-government bodies shall be relieved of their duties at work and shall have no right to make use of the advantages of their position”. This article raised significant controversy during the 2008 presidential election campaign as to whether the Prime Minister, who was standing as a presidential candidate, was required to resign or take a leave of absence. When the Code was drafted in 1999, this article was designed to create an exception in the case when the sitting president stood for re-election or the acting president (defined under the constitution as either the Prime Minister or the Speaker of the National Assembly) could continue in the office of president while campaigning. In 2002, the Law on Civil Service introduced the concept of professional civil service, as opposed to state service. This new definition of civil service referred only to professional civil servants and does not include those in political offices. Article 78 was not amended to reflect the new definition of civil service. In the 2008 presidential election, the prime minister did not take a leave of absence while campaigning for presidential office relying on a clarification made by the CEC interpreting the article to permit the prime minister to continue in his official function. It is recommended that Article 78 should be amended for greater clarity.