Appealing against decisions, actions and omissions of electoral 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 (omissions) of the electoral commission may be appealed against through administrative or judicial procedure. Where the decision, action (omission) of the electoral commission have been appealed against through administrative or judicial procedure, the administrative proceedings shall be dismissed.

2. The procedure for appealing against decisions, actions (omissions) of the electoral 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 (omission) of the electoral 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 elections, if he or she finds that the right thereof or the principal political party thereof or the candidate included in the electoral list of the political party, prescribed by this Code, has been violated.

4. Complaints against decisions adopted by, actions or omissions of the precinct electoral commission, except for the case prescribed by the second paragraph of this part, shall be submitted to the relevant district electoral commission 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 district electoral commission on working days, from 9:00 to 18:00, whereas on the voting day, from 9:00 to 11:00.

Complaints against the decisions adopted by, actions or omissions of the precinct electoral commission shall be submitted to the relevant district electoral commission during the voting day or the day following the voting, from 8:00 to 22:00 on the voting day or, from 12:00 to 18:00, on the day following the voting or, from 9:00 to 11:00, on the second day following the voting.

5. Decisions adopted by the district electoral commission based on election results may be appealed against before the administrative court. Other decisions, as well as actions (omissions) of the district electoral commission may be appealed against before the Central Electoral Commission 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 Central Electoral Commission on working days, from 9:00 to 18:00, whereas on the day preceding the voting, from 9:00 to 19:00, on the voting day, from 8:00 to 22:00, on the day following the voting, from 12:00 to 18:00. Where the 3rd calendar day expires on a non-working day, except for the days preceding the voting, the voting day or the days following the voting, the complaint may be submitted the next working day, from 9:00 to 18:00.

6. Decisions of the Central Electoral Commission adopted based 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 (omissions) of the Central Electoral Commission may be appealed against before the administrative court.

7. The district electoral commissions and the Central Electoral Commission shall respond to the applications received by the day preceding the voting day, after calling elections, 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 district electoral commissions and the Central Electoral Commission shall respond to the applications received starting from the voting day until two days before the time limit prescribed for summarisation of 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 district electoral commission shall do so 1 day before the time limit prescribed for summarisation of 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 electoral list of the political party running in elections and the candidate included in the electoral list of the political party may be submitted only by the political party running in elections.

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

11. An application on declaring invalid or revoked the registration of the electoral list of the political party running in elections, the candidate included in the electoral list of the political party, the candidate for head of community or member of council of elders may only be submitted to the electoral commission that carried out the registration. The application must be submitted no later than 2 days before the voting 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 electoral 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 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 elections, the candidate included in the electoral list of the political party running in elections, the candidate for head of community or member of council of elders;
(2) the proxy, where he or she has been present in the voting room or at the sitting of the precinct electoral commission for summarisation of results;
(3) member of the relevant precinct electoral commission, where a record on having a special opinion has been made in the protocol.

13. The political party, the candidate for head of 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 district electoral commission by a competent person on the day following the voting, from 12:00 to 18:00 or on the second day following the voting, from 9:00 to 11:00.
Where based on the result of consideration of application, the district electoral commission 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 district electoral commission 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 electoral commission summarising election results at least 2 days before the relevant time limit 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 voting instead of another person:

(1) authorised representative of the political party running in elections, the candidate for head of community or member of council of elders;

(2) proxy;

(3) member of the relevant precinct electoral commission;

(4) elector 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 voting instead of another person to the relevant district electoral commission on the day following the voting, from 12:00 to 11:00 of the third day following the voting.

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 voting instead of another person.

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 elector is included, the number of the elector 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 voting instead of another person. 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 fictitious 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 voting instead of another person shall be submitted in the original, signed solely by the applicant. The application must contain the name, patronymic, 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. Carbon 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 voting instead of another person, as well as forms on being informed of the criminal liability provided for making a false statement regarding voting instead of another person and submitting a statement with false signature attached to the application regarding voting instead of another person shall be approved by the Central Electoral Commission and posted on the website of the Commission with the possibility to download.

In case of absence of required documents to be attached to the application or in case of inconformity with the prerequisites prescribed by this part 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 voting instead of another persons, or data of more than one person on voting instead of another person are indicated in one application, and the check reveals that at least one false statement regarding voting instead of another person or at least one statement with false signature regarding voting instead of another person is attached to the application, further consideration of applications submitted by that person shall be terminated, the administrative proceedings shall be dismissed, and all the materials shall be submitted to the relevant law enforcement body. Previously checked and verified information regarding voting instead of another person shall be taken into account for rendering a decision based on the election results.

(Article 48 amended by HO-119-N of 30 June 2016, amended, supplemented by HO-158-N of 20 October 2016)
(Amendments to Article 48 shall be applied upon the entry into force of the Law of HO-158-N of 20 October 2016, starting from the first round of election of the National Assembly)