Powers of the Central Electoral Commission
1. The Central Electoral Commission is the state body in charge of organizing elections and ensuring their legality, which shall operate on a permanent basis, in accordance with its bylaws. The Central Electoral Commission shall:
1) oversee state budget resources allocated for organizing and holding elections and ensure that electoral commissions have necessary premises, furniture and other material/technical equipment;
2) make decisions on working procedures for itself and lower electoral commissions;
3) oversee the uniform application of this Code;
4) Revoked
5) oversee that the mass media ensure equal opportunities for campaigning;
6) approve the specimen of ballots and other electoral documents, procedures for filling them out and storing them; provide electoral commissions with necessary electoral documents;
7) publish instructions on implementation of this Code and other normative acts that are mandatory for electoral commissions organizing and holding elections, and oversee their implementation;
8) Revoked
9) ensure equal conditions for pre-election activities of presidential candidates, parties running for the National Assembly under proportionate system and candidates running for the National Assembly under majoritarian system;
10) make decisions, within the framework of its powers, that are mandatory for state and local self-government bodies, non-governmental organizations, parties, institutions, organizations and officials;
11) discuss applications and complaints about decisions and actions of electoral commissions, review or overturn decisions of electoral commissions that contradict this Code and decisions of higher electoral commissions;
12) hear reports by electoral commissions and appropriate state bodies on preparation and conduct of elections;
13) accredit representatives of mass media, register representatives of foreign states, NGOs and international organizations as observers, and issue them IDs on the basis of submitted lists;
14) approve the form of ballot boxes;
15) approve the specimen of electoral commissions’ stamps, order them and provide them to the commissions, and define procedures for returning the stamps after the end of elections;
16) register and issue appropriate certificates to persons nominated to run for presidency of the Republic of Armenia; in cases specified by the law, refuse registration, annul or invalidate it. It shall also issue presidential candidates or their representatives with sufficient number of ID cards for their proxies;
17) register parties and initiative groups nominating presidential candidates;
18) organize the publication of presidential candidates’ biographic data;
19) declare presidential elections invalid or failed, if grounds specified by the law exist, and make decision on the election of President;
20) summarize and approve the results of presidential elections and National Assembly elections under proportionate system;
21) register parties that have submitted applications to run for the National Assembly under proportionate system, and publish the lists of candidates nominated by them;
22) register the elected members of the National Assembly and issue them with Member of Parliament certificates;
23) call by-elections and new elections to the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia;
24) refer cases of violation of this Code to appropriate state bodies;
25) resolve other issues related to the implementation of this Code;
26) set out procedures for organizing trainings for candidates for electoral commission membership and issuing members with qualification certificates;
27) set out procedures for drawing lots in electoral commissions;
28) number electoral districts for National Assembly elections under majoritarian system;
29) set out procedures related to pre-election funds and electoral deposits;
29.1) it may set up institutions in accordance with procedures defined by the law;
30) exercise other powers prescribed by this Code.
2. If the an electoral district includes communities from more than one marz, then the Central Electoral Commission shall determine which Territorial Electoral Commission would have the authority to organize and hold elections in that community, at least 65 days before the voting day.
3. The Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission or any other member of the Central Electoral Commission, as assigned by the Chairman, shall make a statement at the National Assembly on the organization and holding of elections within thirty days after every national election.
4. The Central Electoral Commission may submit to the Government of the Republic of Armenia draft recommendations on legislative amendments to improve the administration of elections.
