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Article 19
 

Main principles of election campaign
1. Period of the election campaign shall be the period prescribed by this Code, during which the rules prescribed by this Code on making use of public resources, conducting election campaign and ensuring financial transparency are in place for the purpose of ensuring equal opportunities for the political parties running in the elections and candidates.
The fact that the period of election campaign is fixed shall not restrict the conduct of election campaign during other periods not prohibited by this Code.
The period of the election campaign shall start on the 7th day following the last day of the deadline prescribed by this Code for the registration of the candidate lists of political parties running in the elections and of the candidates and shall expire one day before the Election Day. The campaign during that period shall be hereinafter referred to as “the election campaign”.
The campaign — on the Election Day and on the day preceding it — through public speeches, public events, as well as through print media, radio and television companies (including during satellite broadcasting) carrying out terrestrial on-air broadcasting shall be prohibited.


2. The State shall ensure free conduct of election campaign. It shall be ensured by state and local self-government bodies by providing them with halls and other premises for the purpose of organising election assemblies, meetings of voters with candidates and other election related events. These shall be provided to political parties running in the elections of the National Assembly, the Councils of Elders of Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor on equal grounds and free of charge, as prescribed by the CEC. Halls of general education institutions may be provided to candidates, political parties running in the elections only after 18:00, or on non-working days, and only in cases where there are no other relevant halls for conducting election campaign in the given community (administrative district of the city of Yerevan).


3. No later than 20 days after calling elections of the National Assembly, the Councils of Elders of Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor, the marz governor and, in case of Yerevan, the Mayor of Yerevan shall submit to the CEC the list of halls and other premises that shall be provided free of charge to political parties running in the elections. This list shall be posted on the website of the CEC. Information shall be submitted in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the CEC.


4. After calling elections, election campaign offices may be formed. Election campaign offices may not be located in the buildings occupied by state and local self-government bodies (except for cases where election campaign offices occupy an area not belonging to such bodies), in the buildings of general education institutions, as well as in the buildings where election commissions are functioning. Signboards placed on election campaign offices shall not be regarded as printed campaign materials within the meaning of this Code where they do not contain direct callls to vote for or against a candidate, a political party running in the elections, the number of such posters does not exceed the number of election precincts formed for elections, and where the surface area of every signboard does not exceed 6 square metres.


5. It shall be prohibited to conduct an election campaign and disseminate any type of campaign material by:


(1) state and local self-government bodies, as well as state and community servants (except for the members of the National Assembly), pedagogical staff of education institutions when performing their powers;


(2) judges, prosecutors, officers of the Investigative Committee, officers of the Special Investigation Service, Police, National Security Service, penitentiary institutions, officers of the Judicial Acts Compulsory Enforcement Service and military servants;


(3) members of the election commissions.


6. During the election campaign, as well as on the day preceding the Election Day and on the Election Day, candidates, political parties running in the elections shall be prohibited to provide (promise) — in person or through someone else on their behalf, or in any other manner, gratuitously or on preferential conditions — money, food, securities, goods to voters or to render (promise) services to them. Charitable organisations, the names of which may esemble (be associated with) the names of political parties running in the elections and the names of candidates, may not carry out during the election campaign charity work in the communities where elections are held in which these candidates, political parties or candidates nominated thereby are running.


7. Election commissions shall exercise control over the observance of the procedure for election campaign established by this Code or legal acts adopted based on the Code. In case this procedure is violated by candidates, political parties running in the elections, the election commission having registered the candidate and the candidate list of a political party running in the elections shall apply to the competent authorities in order to prevent them, or shall impose warning in respect of the candidate, political party running in the elections, which has committed the violation, by giving a reasonable period for eliminating the violation, which may not exceed 3 days. The candidate, the political party running in the elections shall be obliged to eliminate the violation consequences of the violation) within the deadline referred to in the decision and shall inform the election commission thereon in writing.


8. Where there is a violation of the established procedure for the election campaign, which is of a continuous nature, and the committed violation may essentially affect the election results, or it is impossible to eliminate the consequences of the committed violation, and the committed violation may essentially affect the election results, the election commission — having registered the candidate, the candidate list of the political party running in the elections — shall apply to court for revoking the registration of the candidate, the candidate list of the political party running in the elections. The court may revoke the registration of the candidate, the candidate list of the political party running in the elections, where it concludes that the violation has been committed or directed to be committed by the candidate or the political party running in the elections.


9. Arrested or detained candidates and candidates included in the candidate list of a political party running in the elections shall conduct election campaign through proxies designated to act in electoral processes. To that end, arrested candidates or candidates kept in detention shall have the right, during the election campaign, to have meetings with up to 3 proxies for up to 2 hours a day at the facilities for holding arrestees or detention facilities, respectively.