Dates for Local Self-Government Elections Announced by Emin Yeritsyan

The President of the Union of Communities of Armenia, Emin Yeritsyan, announced on his Facebook page that the Central Electoral Commission has set the dates for local self-government elections on October 17 and November 14.

According to the Electoral Code of the Republic of Armenia, local elections are appointed by the corresponding governor. Since the requirements of the laws are not always clearly observed, I would like to emphasize a few points.

IMPORTANT POINTS:

1. The day of voting should be as close as possible to the expiration date of the powers of the council or the community leader. For example, the previous elections of the councils of the cities of Gyumri and Vanadzor were held on October 2, 2016. In this case, the voting day for 2021 should be chosen as October 17, not November 14.
2. There is a contradiction in Articles 120 and 127 of the Electoral Code regarding the deadline for the governor to make the corresponding decision. In one case, a 70-day deadline is set, while in the other case, a 60-day deadline is specified. Therefore, to avoid a violation of the Electoral Code, it is correct to follow the 70-day deadline.
3. Thus, for the elections on October 17, the relevant decisions of the governors should have been made and published no later than August 8, 2021. The 70-day deadline has already been violated. If one were to orient on the 60-day period, such decisions should be made and published by August 18.

Article 120. In the case of elections for council members, the day of voting should be close to the expiration of the powers determined by the Central Electoral Commission from the days set by them before the expiration of the powers.

In the case of electing a community leader, the voting day must be closer to the expiration date of the powers as determined by the Central Electoral Commission from the days they have set.

Election of the community leader and council member must be appointed by the governor not later than 70 days before the voting day indicating the election procedure (proportional or majoritarian), based on previously received data regarding the number of voters in that community from the state authorized body. The action of the decision specified in this paragraph cannot be suspended, except in cases stipulated by law.

Article 127. The regular elections for councils of communities (except for Yerevan) carried out by the proportional electoral system are appointed by the decision of the respective governor within any of the dates specified by Article 120, Paragraph 1 of this Code, based on the premise that the governor's decision to appoint elections enters into force no later than 60 days prior to the day of voting.