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Article 8
 

Publicity of elections


1. Preparations for and holding of elections shall be public.


2. Secondary regulatory legal acts of the Central Election Commission (hereinafter – CEC) shall be published and enter into force as prescribed by the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On legal acts”. Secondary regulatory legal acts of the CEC shall be posted on the website of the CEC by the end of the day following their state registration and filing with the CEC, and during the period of elections of the National Assembly — on the same day. Individual legal acts1 of the CEC shall enter into force in the manner and the deadlines prescribed by the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On legal acts”, except for cases prescribed by this Code. These acts shall be posted on the website of the CEC by the end of the day following the adoption thereof. The website of the CEC shall be the following: www.elections.am.


3. For the purpose of ensuring publicity and transparency of organising and holding elections, raising the level of public awareness, ensuring security, protection and smooth operation of the website of the CEC and the “Elections” automated system, and properly exercising the powers vested in election commissions by this Code, relevant election commissions shall be provided with necessary software, hardware and means of communication, equipment and property.


4. Political parties (alliances of political parties) running in the elections of the National Assembly, the Councils of Elders of the city of Yerevan (hereinafter referred to as “Yerevan”), the city of Gyumri (hereinafter referred to as “Gyumri”), the city of Vanadzor (hereinafter referred to as “Vanadzor”) may submit their electoral programmes in the electronic format prescribed by the CEC for the purpose of posting them on the website of the Commission. The CEC shall post these programmes on the website by the end of the next working day following their submission, but no later than the official start of the election campaign.


5. Candidates shall, within 5 days following the expiry of the deadline prescribed by this Code for registration, submit a declaration of their property and income to the relevant election commission. Within 5 days following the expiry of the deadline prescribed by this Code for registration of candidate lists of political parties running in the elections, the political parties (alliances of political parties) running in the elections shall submit a declaration of property and income of the political party (political parties included in the alliance of political parties) to the CEC. 
The declaration shall include the composition of property as of 1st of the month of submitting the documents for registration prescribed by this Code, as well as income obtained during 12 calendar months preceding the month of the deadline for submitting the documents for registration. 
The forms (electronic forms) of declarations and the procedure for submission thereof shall be prescribed by the CEC.


6. Declarations of political parties (political parties included in the alliances of political parties) running in the elections shall, within a 3-day period after being submitted, be posted on the website of the Commission. Copies of declarations of candidates shall, on the basis of a written application, be provided to proxies, mass media representatives, observers.


7. During elections of the National Assembly, the state administration body authorised by the Government of the Republic of Armenia, maintaining the State Population Register of the Republic of Armenia (hereinafter referred to as “the authorised body”) shall — on the 30th, 20th and 10th day preceding the Election Day — publish the total number of voters included in the Register of Voters of the Republic of Armenia, indicating also the number of voters by place of residence and voters having no registration. During elections of the National Assembly, the authorised body shall, on the day preceding the voting, publish the total number of voters included in the Register of Voters of the Republic of Armenia, indicating also the total number of voters by place of residence, voters having no registration, police officers seconded to electoral precincts, voters in a medical institution providing inpatient treatment. 


8. Voters shall, as prescribed by this Code, be informed of composition, locations, working hours of election commissions, the deadlines for submission of applications regarding inaccuracy in the lists of voters, the nomination of candidates and the deadlines for registration, the day, venue, time of voting, as well as the results of voting and election.


9. On the Election Day, by 11:30, 14:30, 17:30 and 20:30, PECs shall be obliged to communicate to the Territorial Election Commission (hereinafter –TEC) the number of voters having participated in the voting at the given electoral precinct as of 11:00, 14:00, 17:00 and 20:00, respectively. TECs shall summarise, publish and communicate such data to the CEC with the same interval. During elections of the National Assembly, the CEC shall, on the Election Day at 9:00, publish information on the progress of elections, and starting from 12:00 to 21:00 it shall publish, every 3 hours, information on the number of voters having participated in the voting as of the previous hour, by electoral districts, Marz centres and communities in the electoral district having more than 10 000 voters and the city of Yerevan. After the information on the number of voters having participated in the voting is published, it shall be posted on the website of the Commission per precincts. During elections of the National Assembly, the CEC shall publish the data referred to in this paragraph by live broadcasting on public radio and public television, from the seat of the CEC.


10. During elections of the National Assembly, the Council of Elders of Yerevan, the CEC shall — no later than the day following the Election Day, starting at 00:00 — carry out tabulation of voting results by electoral precincts, areas of operation TECs and electoral districts. The CEC shall finalise the tabulation of preliminary voting results and shall post them on the website of the Commission, with the possibility to download, no later than within one hour following the receipt of the latest information from the electoral precinct on the voting results, but no later than within 24 hours following the end of the voting.
During elections of the National Assembly, the Council of Elders of Yerevan, the CEC shall —following the adoption of the decision based on election results, but no later than within one hour after the end of the session —post the final tabulation of voting results by electoral precincts, service areas of TECs and electoral districts on the website of the Commission with the possibility to download.


11. Proxies, observers, visitors, mass media representatives and — upon consent or assignment of the chairperson of the higher level commission — members of the higher level election commission shall have the right, as prescribed by this Code, to be present at the sessions of election commissions, as well as in the polling room during the entire voting process. Proxies, observers, visitors, mass media representatives may photograph and videotape the sessions of election commissions (including the session for summarisation of the voting results), as well as the voting process without violating the right of voters to secrecy of voting.


11.1. During the elections of the National Assembly, the CEC shall allow the specialised organisation — selected as a result of a competition held as prescribed by the Government — to video record, from all electoral precincts, the voting process and the process of summarisation of voting results, as well as to concurrently webcast, in real time, via website (websites) specifically created for that purpose.
The video shall be recorded by fixed cameras. The field of view of cameras must cover the ballot box, the polling station and its entrance, with a radius of up to 50 metres, as well as the processes of registration of voters and allocation of ballot envelopes and ballot papers and of summarisation of the voting results. Video recording and webcast shall be made in observance of the principle of secrecy of voting prescribed by this Code.
The person possessing the premises of a polling station and election commissions shall be obliged to assist the specialised organisation in organising the process of video recording and webcasting; however, they shall not be responsible for the organisation of the process and the quality thereof.
The specialised organisation shall, on the basis of a written application, provide copies of materials video-recorded at an electoral precinct to election commissions, political parties running in the elections and organisations having carried out observation mission, subject to payment of the cost price of copying. The application may be submitted before the expiry of deadlines prescribed for challenging the decision of the CEC on election of the National Assembly, and in case of challenging that decision, before the adoption of a decision by the Constitutional Court. The application must contain the number of the electoral precinct copy from the video-recorded materials whereof is requested, and electronic media, complying with the requirements prescribed by the specialised organisation, must be submitted with the application.
The video-recorded materials shall be archived by the specialised organisation and maintained in the manner prescribed for maintenance of election related documents.


12. Both the general number of voters registered in military units and the number of those registered by electoral precincts, the numbers and locations of the electoral precincts, where the voters included in the lists of voters being drawn up in military units, lists of voters being drawn up in military units shall not be subject to publication, extracts therefrom shall not be made.