Article 120: Electoral System

1. For the election of the community head multi-mandate majoritarian constituencies are formed on the territory of the community.

2. The community council comprises of:

1). five members – in a community with a population of up to 3,000 inhabitants;

2). ten members – in a community with a population of 3,001 to 20,000 inhabitants;

3). fifteen members – in a community with a population of more than 20,001 inhabitants.

3. For the election of the community council the territory of the community is considered:

1). one multi-mandate majoritarian constituency – in a community of up to 3,000 inhabitants;

2). two multi-mandate majoritarian constituencies – in a community of 3,001 to 20,000 inhabitants, each constituency having five mandates. The number of the population in the community constituency shall not exceed 55 per cent of the total number of population of the community;

3). three multi-mandate majoritarian constituencies – in a community with over 20,001 inhabitants, each constituency having five mandates. Up to five per cent variance is allowed between the community constituencies.

Article 121: Electoral Right

Every citizen has the right to one vote:

1). at the election of the community head,

2). at the election of the council members.

Article 122: Requirements for the Candidates for Community Head and Council Member

1. Every citizen of the Republic of Armenia, who has attained the age of 25 years, has been a resident of the given community for at least the last one year, and has the right to vote, can be elected as community head.

2. Every citizen of the Republic of Armenia, who has attained the age of 21 year, has been a resident of the given community for at least the last one year, and has the right to vote, can be elected a council member.

3. Members of the Constitutional Court and judges cannot be nominated as candidates for community head and council member.

Article 123: Nomination of Candidates for Community Head and Council Member

1. Citizens have the right to be nominated as candidates for community head and the council member by self-nomination, upon submitting to the relevant Regional Electoral Commission an application and a receipt on the payment of the electoral deposit; in the communities with up to 5,000 voters it makes fifty times the minimum salary for the community head, and ten times – for the council member; in the communities with over 5,000 voters it makes one hundred times the minimum salary for the community head, and twenty times – for the council member

2. In the event of being elected as the community head, as well as getting more than five per cent of votes cast for the candidates, the sum of the electoral deposit of the candidate is paid back. In the event of getting less than five per cent of votes, the sum of the electoral deposit is transferred to the state budget.

3. In the event of being elected as a council member, as well as getting more than five per cent of votes cast for the candidates in the constituency, the sum of the election deposit is paid back. In the event of getting less than five per cent of votes, the sum of the electoral deposit is transferred to the state budget.

4. In the application on self-nomination, the citizen notifies his/her family name, first name, year, month and date of birth, place of residence, place of work, position (occupation) and party affiliation.

5. The citizen, who is nominating himself / herself, encloses together with the submitted application:

1). receipt on the payment of the electoral deposit;

2). reference on citizenship of the Republic of Armenia for the last one year;

3). reference on being registered in the given community for the last one year, reference on being registered in the city of Yerevan for the last year if the citizen is nominating himself for a position of a

Community Head or a Council Member.

4). declaration about his/her private property and his/her and his/her family members' income for the last one year.

6. References mentioned in the sub-points two and three, of point five of this Article are allocated to the citizen nominating himself / herself for the candidate by the authorized state body, within three days after the application has been presented, in the procedure established by the Central Electoral Commission.

7. The above-mentioned documentation is submitted by the self-nominating candidate for the community head and council member in person or through his/her plenipotentiary representative.

8. A candidate for the community head can be nominated in one community only. A candidate for the council member can be nominated in one constituency only.

Article 124: Registration of Candidates for Community Head and Council Member

1. Candidates- nominees for the community head and the council member are registered by the decision of the Regional Electoral Commission. The nominated candidate or his/her plenipotentiary representative has the right to attend the meeting of the commission during the consideration of the issue of the registration.

2. The Regional Electoral Commission denies the registration, if:

1). restrictions anticipated by this Code extend onto the citizen nominated as a candidate;

2). The documents submitted for registration have been falsified. In the event of an objection about the registration of the candidate nominated for the community head and the council member, the issue is put to vote. The registration is denied with at least two-thirds vote of the members of the Regional Electoral Commission. In the event of no objection – the candidate is considered as registered. In the event of denial of the registration of the citizen nominated for the community head and council member, his/her electoral deposit is paid back.

3. The Regional Electoral Commission recognizes the registration of the candidate nominated for the community head or the council member as invalid, if after the registration, facts have been revealed, by the force of which the restrictions under this Code extend onto the candidate. Regional Electoral Commission declares the registration of candidate nominated for the Community Head or Council Member invalid, by at least two/thirds of the votes of the total number of its members. In the event of recognizing the registration of the candidate as invalid, the sum of the electoral deposit and the means in the pre-election fund are transferred to the state budget.

4. The decision of the Regional Electoral Commission on the denial in registration or recognizing invalid the registration of the candidate nominated for the community head or the council member can be appealed to the court within three days after it has been adopted. Based on the court judgement on recognizing the decision of the Regional Electoral Commission on the denial in registration or recognizing invalid the registration of the candidate nominated for the community head or the council member unlawful, he/she is recognized registered or re-registered.

Article 125: Recognizing the Registration of Candidates Nominated for Community Head and Council Member as Out of Force

1. The registration of the candidate for the community head and the council member is recognized as out of force, if he/she:

1). has no more the right to vote;

2). has submitted an application on self-withdrawal;

3). has died;

4). the requirement under point eight of Article 18 of this code has been violated;

5). the requirement under point seven of Article 25 of this code has been violated;

2. The candidate nominated for the community head or the council member can submit an application on self-withdrawal to the Regional Electoral Commission not later than ten days prior to voting. Based on the application for self-withdrawal the registration of the candidate nominated for the community head or the council member is recognized out of force, the sum of his/her electoral deposit and the means left in the pre-election fund are transferred to the state budget.

3. In the event of the death of the candidate nominated for the community head or council member, his registration is considered out of force; the sum of the electoral deposit is transferred to his/her heirs, and the means left in the pre-election fund are transferred to the state budget.

4. In the event if the registration of the candidate nominated for the community head or council member has been recognized out of force in conformity with point eight of Article 18 and point seven of Article 25 of this Code, the sum of the electoral deposit and the means left in the election fund are transferred to the state budget.

5. In the event if the registration of the candidate nominated for the community head or council member has been recognized out of force in conformity with sub-point one of point one of this Article, the sum of the election deposit is returned and the means left in the election fund are transferred to the state budget.

Article 126: Equality of Candidates Nominated for Community Head and Council Member

Candidates nominated for the community head have equal rights and responsibilities. Candidates nominated for the council member have equal rights and responsibilities.

Article 127: Guarantees for the Activity of Candidates Nominated for Community Head and Council Member

A candidate nominated for the community head or council member can be arrested upon the consent of the Regional Electoral Commission. The Regional Electoral Commission makes a final decision on the matter with at least two-thirds vote of the commission members participating in the voting.

Article 128: The Pre-Election Fund of Candidates Nominated for the Community Head and the Council Member

1. A candidate nominated for the community head or the council member can establish a pre-election fund in his/her name or in the name of his/her plenipotentiary representative, which is formed from the voluntary contributions mentioned in Article 25 of this Code. Each physical person can make a contribution to the candidate's pre-electoral fund up to 25 times the minimum salary, and each legal person – up to 150 times the minimum salary.

2. The candidates nominated for the community head or the council member have the right to use the means of their pre-election funds only, for the pre-election campaign.

Article 129: Pre-Election Campaign

Pre-election campaign for the elections to the local self-governing bodies is conducted in the procedure and time frames established by Articles 18-23 of this Code.

Article 130: Ballots

1. Elections of the candidates nominated for the community heads and council members are held by separate ballots.

2. The ballot for the election of the community heads contains the family names and the first names of the candidates in the alphabetical order of the family name, party affiliation, and if necessary other passport data. The ballots for the election of the community heads and the council members are prepared by the order of the Regional Electoral Commission. The Regional Electoral Commission allocates the ballots to the Precinct Electoral Commissions on the day prior to the day of voting. Ballots shall be of the same colour.

3. The ballots for the election of the council members contain the family names and the first names of the candidates in the alphabetical order of the family name, party affiliation, and if necessary other passport data. Ballots shall be of the same colour and differ from the colour of the ballots for the election of the community heads.

4. Ballots are allocated in the amount of five per cent more than the number of voters on the precinct voter list.

Article 131: Procedure for Summarization of the Election Results

1. Based on the summarization protocols of the voting results received from Precinct Electoral Commissions, the Regional Electoral Commission, at its session, which can be attended by persons who have the right to be present, compiles summarization protocols on the election results in the community.

2. In case there is a written application of two members of the Precinct Electoral Commission the Regional Electoral Commission verifies and checks the conformity of the data of the precinct summarization protocol on the voting results at the relevant precinct, with the actual voting data. The authors of the special opinion and the Chairman of the relevant Precinct Electoral Commission can participate in the verifications.

3. In case of revealing discrepancies as a result of the verification the Regional Electoral Commission compiles verified summarization protocols on the voting results of the given precinct which are attached to the provisional protocols of the Precinct Electoral Commission. The members of the commission attending the session sign the verified protocols. The protocols are stamped by the Regional Electoral Commission. If a member of the Regional Electoral Commission has a special opinion on the data of the verified protocols, it is attached to the protocol. A note thereof is made in the protocol next to his/her signature. If a commission member refuses to sign the verified protocols, a note thereon is made in the protocol.

Article 132: Procedure for Summarization of Precinct Protocols at the Regional Electoral Commissions

1. Summarization protocols of the election results of the candidates for the community head and council members are compiled separately.

2. The summarization protocol of the results of voting shall contain:

1). name of the community and the election day;

2). family names and first names of the Regional Electoral Commission members attending the session and of the absentees;

3). family names and first names of the proxies, observers and the representatives of mass media attending the meeting of the Regional Electoral Commission, and the names of their organizations;

4). the total number of citizens included on all the precinct voter lists of the community;

5). the total number of the registered citizens;

6). the total number of the votes cast for each candidate;

7). the amount of inaccuracies influencing the votes.

Each datum to be entered in the protocol is read out.

3. Summarization protocols of the voting results are compiled in the procedure and time frame established by Article 62.

4. The members of the Regional Electoral Commission sign the summarization protocol of the voting results. The protocol is stamped with the stamp of the commission. If the signature of a commission member is missing, a note thereof is done in the protocol.

Article 133: Summarization of the Election Results of the Candidate Nominated for the Community Head

1. Based on the data of the summarization protocols of voting results of the community head, the Regional Electoral Commission summarizes the election results and in accordance with the procedure and time frame established by Articles 62 of this code, adopts one of the following decisions:

1). on the election of the community head;

2). on recognizing the election of the community head as invalid;

3). on recognizing the election of the community head not held.

2. The candidate, who has received maximum "yes" votes, is considered as elected. In case one candidate is running for elections, he/she is considered as elected, if he/she has received more than half of the votes of the voters.

3. Elections of the candidate nominated for the community head are recognized as invalid, if the amount of the inaccuracies influencing the number of votes excludes the possibility of determining the elected candidate, or if in the course of preparation and conduct of elections such violations of the current Code occurred, that might effect the results of the elections. In the event of recognizing the election of the community head as invalid, fourteen days after the election, in the procedure established by this Code and with the same composition of candidates repeated voting is held.

4. The elections of the candidate nominated for the community head is considered as not held, if:

1). the only candidate running has not received the required number of votes for being elected;

2). the elected candidate has died before the election results have been summarized;

3). as a result of the repeated voting, some bases for recognizing the elections of the community head as not held, have become available.

5. Within two hours after the decision on the election of the community head has been adopted, the Chairman of the Regional Electoral Commission forwards a notification to the Central Electoral Commission and the relevant governor.

6. The decision of the Regional Electoral Commission on the results of the elections of the candidate nominated for the community head can be appealed to court within three days after it has been adopted.

7. In the event if the court has ruled to recognize the election of the candidate nominated for the community head invalid, fourteen days after the decision has entered into legal force, repeated voting is held in the procedure established by this Code, with the same composition of candidates.

8. Repeated voting with the same composition of candidates can be held only once.

Article 134: Summarization of the Election Results of the Candidates Nominated for the Council Member

1. Based on the data of the summarization protocols of the election of the candidates nominated for the community council members, the Regional Electoral Commission sums up the election results, and within five days after the close of voting makes one of the following decisions:

1). on the election of the community council members;

2). on recognizing the election of the community council members as invalid;

3). on recognizing the election of the community council members as not held.

2. Election results of the candidates nominated for the community council members are summarized by multi-mandate majoritarian constituencies, as established in point three of Article 120 of this Code.

3. Elections of the candidates nominated for the community council members can be recognized as invalid or not held according to the multi-mandate majoritarian constituencies, as established in point three of Article 120.

4. The first five candidates for the community council members, who have received the maximum "yes" votes, are considered elected at the given multi-mandate majoritarian constituency.

5. The election of the community council members is recognized as invalid, if the amount of the inaccuracies influencing the number of votes excludes the possibility of determining the elected candidate, or if in the course of preparation and conduct of elections such violations of the current Code occurred, that might effect the results of the elections. In case the election of the community council members has been recognized invalid, fourteen days after the election repeated voting is held in the procedure established by this Code and with the same composition of the candidates.

6. The election of the community council member is considered as not held, if as a result of the repeated voting, some bases are available for recognizing the election of the community council member as invalid. In case the election of candidates nominated for the community council members has been recognized as invalid by the decision of the court, fourteen days after the decision has entered into legal force, repeated voting is held in the procedure established by this Code and with the same composition of the candidates.

7. In the event of the equal number of votes received in the election by candidates nominated for community council member, the distribution of the mandates is done by drawing a lot in the procedure established by the Central Electoral Commission.

8. The Chairman of the Regional Electoral Commission within two hours after the decision on the election of the community council members has been adopted, forwards a report to the Central Electoral Commission and the relevant governor.

9. The decision of the Regional Electoral Commission on the election results of the candidates nominated for the community council members can be appealed to court with three days after it has been adopted.

Article 135: Time Frames for Conducting, assigning of Regular Elections, Nomination and Registration of Candidates

1. Regular elections to the local self-governing bodies are held not later than 30 days prior to the expiration of the term of powers of the local self-governing bodies.

2. The decision on assigning regular elections is taken by the relevant Governor not later than 60 days prior to the expiration of the term of powers of the community head.

3. The documentation required for the nomination of the candidates is submitted to the Regional Electoral Commission not earlier than 30 and not later than 25 days prior to the day of voting, until 6:00 p.m.

4. The registration of the candidates is done not earlier than 25 and not later than 20 days prior to the day of voting, until 6:00 p.m.

Article 136: Time frames and Procedures for Formation of the Multi-Mandate Majoritarian Constituencies

1. A community with a population of up to 3000 inhabitants is considered as one multi-mandate majoritarian constituency for the elections to local self-governing bodies.

2. The community with a population of more than 3000 inhabitants is divided into majoritarian constituencies by the relevant Governor (Mayor of Yerevan), upon the recommendation of the community head (district head).

3. The community is divided into multi-mandate majoritarian constituencies not later than 35 days prior to the day of voting.

Article 137: Assigning and Conduct of New Elections

On the thirtieth day after the decision of the Regional Electoral Commission on recognizing the elections of candidates nominated for the community head or council members as not held or after the entry into force of the court judgement, new elections are held. New elections are held with newly nominated candidates, in accordance with the procedure established by Article 138 of this code, for the conduct of the extraordinary elections.

Article 138: Assigning and Conducting Extraordinary Elections

1. Extraordinary elections for the community head are held within 30 days after the vacancy in the office.

2. Government adopts a decision on assigning the extraordinary elections simultaneously with the dismissal from the office of the community head or early termination of his/her powers.

3. In the event of reduction of the total number of the community council members twice as much, extraordinary elections of the community council members are held within 30 days time.

4. Documentation required for the nomination of candidates is submitted to the Regional Electoral Commission not earlier than 18 and not later than 15 days prior to the day of voting, until 6:00 p.m.

5. Registration of candidates is done not earlier than 15 and not later than 12 days prior to the election day, until 6:00 p.m.