Home > 1.1.3.2 Submission of a list of candidates > ARMENIA - Second Joint Opinion on the Electoral Code (As Amended on 30 June 2016)
 
 
 
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Paragraph 18
 

In the first Joint Opinion on the draft electoral code, the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR made three key and several other recommendations. The new Electoral Code as amended on 30 June takes into account a significant number of these recommendations, notably:


- The time-period for the formation of political coalitions after the first round of elections has been doubled, from three to six days from the announcement of the official results in order to avoid a second round, and from two to five days from the decision to hold a second round in order to form a coalition to participate in it;


- Access to the so-called “signed” (in the new Code, “stamped” rather than signed) voter lists has been made possible, in two new ways. First, by using technical equipment to print a statement of the individual voter identification number of those who voted immediately after the end of voting. Proxies, observers and media representatives receive a copy of this statement and may check the individual voter identification numbers against the original signed voter list for a period of thirty minutes (extended from twenty minutes by the amendments of 30 June 2016). If the equipment has not been introduced, proxies may apply to the District Electoral Commission after the elections in order to consult the lists. While the two possibilities are currently alternative, their cumulative application could serve as another welcome confidence-building measure;


- The mandatory test for citizen observers has been removed. The requirement for specific provisions in the charter of the citizen observer organisations to have been in force for at least three years preceding the elections has been reduced to one year, but regrettably not totally removed;
- The requirement for the President to appoint the acting chairperson or a member of the CEC “in consultation with parliamentary factions” has been added, as a means to build consensus on the appointment of election officials;


- The independence of election administration officials has been strengthened by adding an exhaustive list of grounds for the early termination of their mandate;


- Women’s representation has been enhanced by increasing the minimum quotas for each gender on candidate lists from 25 to 30 per cent, and extending quotas for the first part of the list to each integer group of 3 instead of 4. These new quotas will, however, only apply from 2021 onwards;


- The CEC is now obliged to develop and publish training materials for the members of all electoral commissions, specialists, candidates, proxies, observers, and voters;


- The Code also clarified important regulations, in particular, addressing recommendations related to campaign and campaign finance, candidate de-registration processes, and complaints and appeals procedures.