An Unexpected Situation May Arise in the Constitutional Court: No Candidate Seems to Secure Six or Five Votes

The newspaper "Hraparak" reports: "Today, on September 23, a procedural session will be held in the Constitutional Court, which will also address the election of the President and Vice President of the Constitutional Court. Each of the 9 members of the Constitutional Court can both nominate themselves and propose another candidate. At this moment, it remains unclear who will be elected as the President of the Constitutional Court.

According to Article 19 of the RA Law on the Constitutional Court, a candidate can be elected as President from the composition of the Constitutional Court who receives two-thirds of the votes of the total number of judges, which amounts to 6 votes. If only one candidate is nominated, they can be elected by a majority of the votes of the total number of judges, constituting 5 votes. An unexpected situation may arise because no candidate seems to be garnering six or five votes, as it is possible that Hrayr Tovmasyan and Arevik Petrosyan from the old composition may not vote for anyone and may not participate in the election at all, deeming the process illegitimate. Furthermore, the pair of Vahe Grigoryan and Arman Dilyan are not reconciled with the newly elected 3 judges.

On the other hand, Yervand Khundkaryan is reportedly dispatched to the Constitutional Court with the condition of becoming president. It is also possible that the first round of voting may not conclude, allowing for the nomination of Khundkaryan and Dilyan. This would also create an illusion of democratic elections, and in the second round, the candidate with fewer votes will be eliminated from the competition, while the remaining one will then be elected with 5 votes. If a president cannot be elected in the second round either, then according to the law, a new election will take place after 10 days."