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 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 election campaign shall start on the 7th day following the last day of the time period prescribed by this Code for the registration of the electoral lists of political parties running in elections and of the candidates and shall expire one day before the voting day. The campaign during that period shall be hereinafter referred to as “the election campaign”.
The campaign — on the voting day and on the day preceding it — through public speeches, public events, as well as through print media, radio companies 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 electors with candidates and other election related events. These shall be provided to political parties running in elections of the National Assembly, the Councils of Elders of Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor on equal grounds and free of charge, as prescribed by the Central Electoral Commission. Halls of general education institutions may be provided to candidates, political parties running in 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 Central Electoral Commission the list of halls and other premises that are provided free of charge to political parties running in elections. This list shall be posted on the website of the Central Electoral Commission. Information shall be submitted in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Central Electoral Commission.
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 electoral 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 appeals to vote for or against a candidate, a political party running in elections, the number of such posters does not exceed the number of election precincts formed for elections, and where the surface area of each signboard does not exceed 6 square metres.
5. (part repealed by HO-318-N of 4 May 2018)
6. During the election campaign, as well as on the day preceding the voting day and on the voting day, candidates, political parties running in 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 electors or to render (promise) services to them. Charitable organisations, the names of which may resemble (be associated with) the names of political parties running in 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. Electoral 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 elections, the electoral commission having registered the candidate and the electoral list of a political party running in elections shall apply to the competent authorities in order to prevent them, or shall impose a warning in respect of the candidate, political party running in 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 elections shall be obliged to eliminate the violation (consequences of the violation) within the time limit referred to in the decision and shall inform the electoral commission thereon.
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 electoral commission — having registered the candidate, the electoral list of the political party running in elections — shall apply to court for revoking the registration of the candidate and the electoral list of the political party running in elections. The court may revoke the registration of the candidate, the electoral list of the political party running in elections, where it concludes that the violation has been committed or directed to be committed by the candidate or the political party running in elections.
9. Arrested candidates or candidates kept in detention and candidates included in the electoral list of a political party running in 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.
(Article 19 HO-318-N of 4 May 2018)
