Constitutional Court to rule on election challenges by July 4, Chief Justice says

The President of the Constitutional Court, Arman Dilanyan, said on Friday that the top court has until July 4 to deliver a ruling on the challenges to the June 7 parliamentary election results.

The hearing on the challenges began on Friday.

Chief Justice Dilanyan said at the hearing that the ruling must be issued by July 4, calling it a tight timeframe, and added that the court will therefore hold hearings over the weekend.

A hearing will take place on Saturday, with the possibility of continuing on Sunday as well, he said.

“We can work today until 19:00 or 19:30. We will also hold a hearing on Saturday, and after that we will decide whether to hold a hearing on Sunday or not. But please do not rule out in any way that we may hold a hearing on Sunday, which would start at 11:00 and could last until 21:00, 22:00, or even 24:00. I am not ruling anything out,” Dilanyan said.

He urged the parties to the case to take into account the working schedule set by the Constitutional Court and to adjust their working and personal schedules accordingly.

The motions to annul the election results, citing alleged fraud, were filed by the Strong Armenia bloc, Wings of Unity party, Democracy, Law and Order party, Prosperous Armenia party, the Rally for the Republic party, the Armenia Alliance, and the New Power Reformist Party.

The Constitutional Court is holding a single hearing on all motions.

The Constitutional Court has also decided to involve the Civil Contract party in the case as a third party.

The Constitutional Court has further ruled to include the Central Electoral Commission as a respondent, and the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Anti-Corruption Committee of Armenia as co-respondents.

Only three political forces entered parliament in the June 7 elections, according to the Central Electoral Commission’s final results.

According to the commission, the Civil Contract party won 49.7% of the vote, securing a majority in the next parliament, while the Strong Armenia bloc came in second with 23.2%. The Armenia Alliance won 9.9%.