Parties can be denied registration only if they refuse to fix errors, says Armenian election chief

Armenian Central Electoral Commission (CEC) Chairman Vahagn Hovakimyan has said that political parties can be denied registration only if they refuse to correct mistakes in their paperwork.

Presenting the commission’s 2024-2025 activity report in the parliament on Friday, Hovakimyan emphasized that the law obliges the CEC to accept all submissions, even incomplete ones, and grant parties 48 hours to remedy deficiencies. “The Electoral Code does not allow us to reject documents because of mistakes or omissions. We must accept them as they are and give time for corrections,” he said.

He noted that the only circumstance under which registration fails is when a party or alliance publicly declines to submit required documents or fix errors. “It happens transparently, in session, meaning the political force must openly refuse. Only then does registration fail,” Hovakimyan explained.

The chairman stressed that the system prevents arbitrary rejection, making non-registration a consequence of a party’s own refusal rather than a CEC decision.