Appealing against decisions, actions and inaction of election commissions, filing an application for declaring the voting results in an electoral precinct invalid or for declaring the election results invalid

1. Decisions and actions (inaction) of the election commission may be appealed against through administrative or judicial procedure. Where the decisions, action (inaction) of the election commission have been appealed against through both administrative and judicial procedure, the administrative proceedings shall be terminated.

2. The procedure for appealing against decisions, actions (inaction) of the election commission through judicial procedure shall be prescribed by the Administrative Procedure Code and the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On the Constitutional Court”.

3. The decision, action (inaction) of the election commission may be appealed against by:

(1) any person, if he or she finds that the subjective right of suffrage thereof prescribed by this Code has been violated or may be violated;
(2) a proxy, if he or she finds that the rights of proxy or the principal thereof prescribed by this Code have been violated;
(3) an observer or a visitor, if he or she finds that the right thereof prescribed by this Code has been violated;
(4) a mass media representative, if he or she finds that the right thereof prescribed by this Code has been violated;
(5) an authorised representative of the political party running in the elections, if he or she finds that the right thereof or the principal political party thereof or the candidate included in the candidate list of the political party, prescribed by this Code, has been violated.

4. Complaints against decisions adopted by, actions or inaction of the PEC, except for the case prescribed by the second paragraph of this part, shall be submitted to the relevant TEC within 2 days starting from the day when the applicant has known or should have reasonably known about the violation.
Complaints referred to in this paragraph may be submitted to the relevant TEC on working days, from 9:00 to 18:00, whereas on the Election Day, from 9:00 to 19:00. 
Complaints against the decisions adopted by actions or inaction of the PEC during the Election Day or the day following the Election Day shall be submitted to the relevant TEC, from 8:00 to 22:00 on the Election Day or, from 12:00 to 18:00, on the day following the Election Day or, from 9:00 to 11:00, on the second day following the Election Day.

5. Decisions adopted by the TEC on election results may be appealed against before the administrative court. Other decisions, as well as actions (inaction) of the TEC may be appealed against before the CEC within 3 calendar days starting from the day when the applicant has known or should have reasonably known about the violation. Complaints referred to in this part may be submitted to the CEC on working days, from 9:00 to 18:00, whereas on the day preceding the voting, from 9:00 to 19:00, on the Election Day, from 8:00 to 22:00, on the day following the Election Day, from 12:00 to 18:00. Where the 3rd calendar day expires on a non-working day, except for the day preceding the voting, the Election Day or the day following the Election Day, the complaint may be submitted the next working day, from 9:00 to 18:00.

6. Decisions of the CEC adopted on the results of elections of the National Assembly may be appealed against before the Constitutional Court. Other decisions adopted by, as well as actions (inaction) of the CEC may be appealed against before the administrative court.

7. The TECs and the CEC shall respond to the applications received in the period between the scheduling the Elections and by the day preceding the Election Day, and in cases prescribed by this Code adopt decisions thereon within a 5-day period but no later than before the start of the voting.
The TECs and the CEC shall respond to the applications received starting from the Election Day until two days before the deadline prescribed for summarisation of the results, by 18:00, and adopt decisions thereon in cases prescribed by this Code until the summarisation of election results, whereas during elections of the National Assembly the TEC shall do so 1 day before the deadline prescribed for summarisation of the election results.

8. Parts 9-18 of this Article define exceptions from the norms defined in parts 1-7 of this Article.

9. An application on declaring invalid or revoked the registration of the candidate list of the political party running in the elections and the candidate included in the candidate list of the political party may be submitted only by the political party running in the elections.

10. An application on declaring invalid or revoked the registration of the candidate for Head of the community or member of council of elders may only be submitted respectively by the candidate for Head of the community or member of council of elders.

11. An application on declaring invalid or revoked the registration of the candidate list of the political party running in the elections, the candidate included in the candidate list of the political party, the candidate for Head of the community or member of council of elders may only be submitted to the election commission that carried out the registration. The application must be submitted no later than 2 days before the Election Day, by 18:00. The application on declaring invalid or revoked the registration shall be considered and a decision thereon shall be adopted by the election commission within a 5-day period following the receipt of the application, but no later than the day before the voting, by 12:00.
The decision referred to in the first paragraph of this part may be appealed against before the administrative court within 3 calendar days starting from the day, when the applicant has known or should have reasonably known about the violation, but no later than the day before the voting, by 18:00. The administrative court shall adopt a decision within 5 days, but no later than the day before the voting.

12. Only the following shall have the right to submit an application on declaring invalid the voting results in electoral precinct:

(1) the political party running in the elections, the candidate included in the candidate list of the political party running in the elections, the candidate for Head of the community or member of council of elders;
(2) the proxy, where he or she has been present in the polling room or at the session of the PEC for summarisation of the results;
(3) member of the relevant PEC, where a record on having a special opinion has been made in the protocol by him/her.

13. The political party, the candidate for Head of the community or member of council of elders shall have the right to submit an application on declaring invalid the election results.

14. An application on declaring invalid the voting results in the electoral precinct may be submitted only to the relevant TEC by a competent person on the day following the Election Day, from 12:00 to 18:00 or on the second day following the Election Day, from 9:00 to 11:00.
Where based on the result of consideration of application, the TEC draws at a conclusion that violations of the requirements of this Code have taken place during the voting, which could have significantly affected the voting results, and where it is impossible to reveal the real results of the voting, the TEC shall declare the voting results in electoral precinct concerned invalid. In that case the materials shall be forwarded to the Prosecutor’s Office.

15. An application for declaring invalid the election results may be submitted to the election commission summarising election results at least 2 days before the deadline prescribed by this Code for summarisation of election results, by 18:00. Consideration of applications on declaring invalid the election results shall be carried out within the period for summarising the election results, and a separate decision thereon shall not be adopted.

16. The following shall have the right to submit an application regarding impersonation:

(1) authorised representative of the political party running in the elections, the candidate for Head of the community or member of council of elders;
(2) proxy;
(3) member of the relevant PEC;
(4) voter not having participated in the voting, next to whose data there is a signature, according to which he or she has participated in the voting.
The competent person shall submit the application regarding impersonation to the relevant TEC from 12:00 on the day following the Election Day, to 11:00 of the third day following the Election Day. Applications regarding impersonation must be submitted separately, accordingly about the persons being absent from the Republic of Armenia and not having participated in the voting, and those being in the Republic of Armenia and not having participated in the voting.
The Election commission shall reject the institution of administrative proceedings based on the application regarding impersonation and shall not examine the application on the merits where the application has been submitted in violation of the provisions of this paragraph.

17. The application regarding impersonation shall be examined in observance of the fundamental principles of administration prescribed by the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On fundamentals of administration and administrative proceedings”.
When examining applications regarding voting instead of a person being absent from the Republic of Armenia, the TEC shall:

(1) verify — through Electronic Border Management Information System (hereinafter referred to as “EBMIS”) used by Border Guard Troops of the National Security Service of the Republic of Armenia adjunct to the Government of the Republic of Armenia — information on the fact of being absent from the Republic of Armenia of the person referred to in the application.
Where the data available in the EBMIS reveal that the person, with regard to whom the application has been submitted, has crossed the border of the Republic of Armenia after the start of the voting, the application for this person shall be deemed groundless, and the administrative proceedings with respect to that part shall be terminated.
Where the data available in the EBMIS reveal that the person, with regard to whom the application has been submitted, has not crossed the border of the Republic of Armenia or has last crossed the border when entering the territory of the Republic of Armenia, the application for this person shall be deemed groundless, and the administrative proceedings with respect to that part shall be terminated;
(2) establish whether the person, with regard to whom the application has been submitted, has been registered by means of technical equipment;
(3) verify also, in case of a voter registered by means of technical equipment and having an identification card, whether the fingerprint provided in the course of registration matches the fingerprint of that voter available in the electronic database of identification cards maintained by the Police.
Upon the request of the TEC, the Police, the National Security Service and, where necessary, other bodies may be engaged in the process of organising examination of applications regarding impersonation.
Where there is no sufficient evidence proving the participation in the voting by the given person, solely for rendering a decision based on the election results, it shall be deemed, applying the principle of presumption of reliability, that impersonation has taken place. All the applications shall also be referred to the relevant law enforcement body, regardless of the process of examination of the application in the TEC.

18. The unambiguous statement of any person, according to which the voter has not participated in the voting and another person has voted instead of that elector, must be attached to the application regarding impersonation.
The person making the statement must also confirm in writing and sign that he or she is aware of the criminal liability provided for making a false statement regarding impersonation.
The statement must include the name, patronymic, surname, personal identification document number (in case of a passport, the serial number), address of the place of registration, address of the place of residence, where the latter differs from the address of the place of registration, the telephone number or electronic mail address of the person making the statement, the date of making the statement. The name, patronymic, surname of the person not having participated in the voting, the number of the electoral precinct, the list in which the voter is included, the number of the voter in the relevant list must also be mentioned in the statement. The statement shall be submitted in the original, signed solely by the person making the statement.
The person submitting the application must also confirm in writing and sign that he or she is aware of the criminal liability provided for submitting, attached to the application, a statement with false signature regarding impersonation. The statement shall be considered a statement with false signature where it has been signed not by the person on behalf of which the statement is made, or it has been signed on behalf of a fake person. The requirement prescribed by this paragraph shall not extend to the case where the person submitting the application and the person making the statement are the same person.
The application regarding impersonation shall be submitted in the original, signed solely by the applicant. The application must contain the name, atronymic, surname, address of the place of registration, address of the place of residence, where the latter differs from the address of the place of registration, the phone number or electronic mail address of the applicant, the list of the documents attached, the date of submission of the application. A copy of the document certifying the status of the applicant must be attached to applications submitted by the persons prescribed by points 1-3 of part 16 of this Article.
Forms of application, statement regarding impersonation, as well as forms on being informed of the criminal liability provided for making a false statement regarding impersonation and submitting a statement with false signature attached to the application regarding impersonation shall be approved by the CEC and posted on the CEC website with the possibility to download.
In case required documents to be attached to the application are lacking or in case of inconformity with the prerequisites prescribed by this paragraph for the application or the statement, the initiation of administrative proceedings shall be rejected. Where the same person has submitted more than one application regarding impersonation, or data of more than one person on impersonation are indicated in one application, and the check reveals that at least one false statement regarding impersonation or at least one statement with false signature regarding impersonation is attached to the application, further consideration of applications submitted by that person shall be terminated, the administrative proceedings shall be terminated, and all the materials shall be submitted to the relevant law enforcement body. Previously checked and verified information regarding impersonation shall be taken into account for rendering a decision based on the election results.