The RA Prosecutor's Office expects that the political parties taking part in the elections, the voters, as well as other subjects involved in the elections will have high civic consciousness and behave lawfully on polling day.

 

According to the RA Electoral Code, it is prohibited to gather in groups near the polling center with a radius of 50 meters on polling day, and traffic congestion next to the entrance of the polling center. The implementation of the provisions of this part, as well as the maintenance of public order in that area are provided by the police officers providing service in the center, regardless the demand of the electoral commission.

 

According to Article 55 of the same Code the central and regional bodies of Police, their offices and subdivisions must provide the normal process of the elections, the unbending activity of the electoral commissions and their members.   

 

Police ensures correct order regarding elections, assists the commissions on demand of the chairman the commission and ensures safe transportation and storage of electoral documents in electoral commissions.

 

According to Article 67, Part 14 of the Code, where the commission member, the proxy or the observer finds that cases of violations of the voting procedure have taken place in the voting process as provided for by this Code, he or she shall have the right to demand that his or her position be recorded in the registration book of the precinct electoral commission.

 

That is to say, all the participants of the electoral process who have the right to be present in the polling station are obliged to exercise their powers in the scope of all the above-mentioned cases prescribed by the RA Electoral Code.

 

Exercising powers by any participant in the electoral process, bypassing or disregarding the above-mentioned procedures and rules of the Code carried out by force or by threat, may result in criminal liability. In particular, according to Article 149.2 of the RA Criminal Code, violence or threat of violence in the precinct center or the area adjacent to the entrance, which has influenced or may affected the normal election process, is punished with imprisonment for up to six years.

 

We urge all participants in the electoral process to exercise their powers in accordance with the Electoral Code the whole voting period exclusively according to the procedure established by the Code.