Yervand Khundkaryan Left Alone in the Constitutional Court: What Was Discussed Over 5 Hours?

“Hayastani Zhoghovurd” reports that the first working session in the Constitutional Court yesterday was heated but lacked substantial discussions. It was expected that elections for the President and Vice-President of the Constitutional Court would take place during this session; however, according to our sources, the issue did not even reach the stage of proposing candidates.

Former Constitutional Court President and favored by the Republican Party, Hrayr Tovmasyan, seems to have formed a coalition with Vahe Grigoryan, who was appointed to the Court by ‘My Step’ but has ties to Levon Ter-Petrosyan, rallying behind the candidacy of Arman Dilyan. Their argument was, “If you were fighting against the old guard, then the new president of the Constitutional Court must be a new figure, at least Arman Dilyan.”

Sources from “Hayastani Zhoghovurd” suggest that the parties even argued to the point of personal insults. As we wrote yesterday, many of the Court members are not particularly supportive of Yervand Khundkaryan's candidacy for the position of President, and it appears that the discussion on this matter was deliberately prolonged.

One might ask what they were doing behind closed doors for five hours. The answer is that they were discussing whether to hold the session openly or behind closed doors.

The newly elected members of the Constitutional Court, Edgar Shatiryann and Artur Vagharyan, maintained a notably neutral stance, meaning that Yervand Khundkaryan, a candidate preferred by the political leadership of the country, is left alone in the Court. Nevertheless, surprises remain possible. In any case, it is expected that the members of the Court will immediately proceed to the candidate selection process this morning.