"Zhoghovurd" daily writes:
"Although the official pre-election campaign for the national elections will start on May 8 and will last until June 5, the political processes are actually already in an active stage. In recent days, representatives of the "Civil Contract" party, led by Nikol Pashinyan, have been holding meetings with citizens in different parts of Yerevan with the participation of ministers and other officials.
During the meetings, citizens' problems are raised, recommendations are given, and possible solutions are discussed, which creates the impression of early campaigning in public perception. The question arises whether such activity can be considered as pre-election propaganda or the use of administrative resources, especially when representatives of the state administration system are involved in the process. ArmLur.am turned to the RA Central Electoral Commission for clarification. CEC answered: "We control exclusively the pre-election campaign period. It is customary to consider it as a period of restrictions, because there are certain functions that are limited by law.
For example, during that period, political forces submit their financial reports to our control and audit service, and on June 6, the day before the vote, campaigning cannot be carried out. That is why we call the pre-election campaign period the period of restrictions. During the rest of the period, any party or political unit is free to carry out its activities, and it has nothing to do with the CEC."
This position of the CEC chairman, and more specifically, the former deputy of the CP faction Vahagn Hovakimyan, actually shows that before the official start of the campaign, political activity is not subject to the control mechanisms that are used in the pre-election phase. At the same time, when government officials participate in public meetings and recommendations are made regarding the issues raised on the spot, the question arises whether equal competitive conditions are ensured for all political forces. From the point of view of confidence in electoral processes, it is important not only to observe legal restrictions, but also to exclude the possible use of administrative resources.
Experts have repeatedly emphasized that the participation of public officials in political processes should be clearly separated from their official powers, in order to exclude doubts about unequal competition. Under these conditions, a situation is formed when the campaign has not yet started legally, but the political process is actually already underway, without the control tools that operate during the official period.
As a result, questions regarding the use of administrative resources continue to exist." Details in today's issue of "Zhoghovurd" daily.
