Political forces are free to conduct campaign activities before the official election campaign period begins, Central Electoral Commission Chairman Vahagn Hovakimyan said.

He made the statement in response to questions about posters of the Civil Contract party appearing in various cities even though the campaign for the June 7 parliamentary elections has not yet started, Panorama.am reported.

“When the official campaign period begins, it is not a period of rights but of restrictions. This means that before the campaign starts, political forces are free to conduct campaigning,” Hovakimyan said.

According to him, political parties intending to participate in local or parliamentary elections can campaign freely for almost the entire period between elections — about four years and eleven months — while restrictions apply only after the official campaign begins.

Asked what limits are set by international practice, especially considering that the ruling party might have an advantage, Hovakimyan said the relevant provisions of Armenia’s Electoral Code were drafted based on international standards.

“Article 23 of our Electoral Code, which was completely rewritten in 2021 and slightly amended in 2024, was developed precisely on the basis of international practice. It was proposed to clarify the rules for the use of administrative resources in legislation,” he said.

The CEC chairman also addressed whether ballots could include a separate option titled “Against everyone.”

“Political forces themselves determine their names and their programs. We deal with parties or alliances of parties,” Hovakimyan said.

He noted that between April 13 and April 23, if a political force named “Against everyone” or another similar name applies to the CEC, the commission will first verify the submitted documents.

“Whether we will have such a party or alliance participating in the elections, I do not know. I will be able to answer this question to some extent on April 24, when all nominations are completed and everyone will know the names of the political forces that have been nominated.

Naturally, once nominated, ballots are printed with the names of all registered parties in accordance with the law,” Hovakimyan said.

He added that if a party or alliance registers under a certain name, that same name must appear on the ballot.

“But today it is impossible to say. We must first have the registered party or alliance in order to print it. If everything proceeds normally and there are no withdrawals, ballots will naturally be printed with whatever name the party or alliance carries,” Hovakimyan said.

Parliamentary elections in Armenia are scheduled for June 7, 2026.