Monitoring of Pre-Election Campaign

On March 18th, a training of monitoring of pre-election campaign took place in Vanadzor. The participants were 16 newly selected volunteers of HCA Vanadzor. After the seminar the participants will carry out monitoring of pre-election campaign in Spitak, Tashir, Stepanavan, Alaverdi and Vanadzor towns of Lori region.

Varuzhan Hovtanyan, the board member of the organization “Transparency International,” presented the legislative regulations of the pre-election funds of political parties /party alliances / that participate in the parliamentary elections in proportional order, the expenses of those funds, as well as legislative regulations preventing the abuse of administrative resources during the campaign.
According to article 25 of the Electoral Code, for the purpose of funding their pre-election campaign, parties have the right to create a pre-election fund. The means of the election funds are accumulated in the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia. Means for the pre-electoral campaign must be used from the pre-election fund.
  For the participants of the parliamentary elections there should be equal conditions and prices. According to the law on TV and Radio, during the campaign period of elections, TV and radio companies publicly state the price of airtime for political advertisements and other campaign programs. Transmission of those programs on TV should be accompanied by the following texts on the screen: “political advertisement” or “program of pre-election campaign.”
  The 4th chapter of the Electoral Code includes the main provisions directed towards preventing abuse of administrative resources during the pre-election campaign. It is forbidden to conduct the pre-election campaign and to disseminate campaign documents of any kind to:
1). State and local self-governing bodies, as well as their staff while performing their official duties;
2). Members and Judges of the Constitutional Court, officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and National Security, officials of the Prosecutor's office, and the military; as well as the members pf electoral commissions.
  Vakhtang Siradeghyan, an expert from the organization “Transparency International,” presented methods of monitoring the pre-electoral campaign.
Monitoring will be on pre-electoral funds, their expenses, issues preventing abuses of administrative resources. The monitors will make notes in a special questionnaire for each day of the campaign.
  The training was implemented within the framework of the project “Capacity Building of HCA Vanadzor in the Sphere of Right Protection” implemented by HCA Vanadzor with support from Open Society Institute and The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.