RA Constitutional Court to rule on opposition applications  challenging Armenian elections results by July 4

ArmInfo.The Constitutional Court of Armenia must rule on the applications of opposition forces challenging the results of the latest parliamentary elections in  Armenia by July 4. This was stated by Arman Dilanyan, Chairman of the  Constitutional Court (CC) of Armenia, speaking to journalists in  Yerevan on June 30 before the next court hearing.

He recalled that July 4 is the deadline for the court to publish its  decision. "This is precisely why we are working so intensively, as  the review must be completed by July 4. This is the deadline for  publishing the decision," Dilanyan noted.

Speaking about the purpose of holding a closed court hearing today,  the President of the Constitutional Court of Armenia explained that  classified documents would be examined. "During one stage of this  hearing, only classified documents will be considered, therefore, it  will be held in a closed format. Only participants in the trial, that  is, the applicants and the judges, will be present," Dilanyan noted.

He also responded to the opposition's claim that Constitutional Court  Judge Seda Safaryan's questions at the Supreme Court were politically  charged, while a Constitutional Court judge should play a neutral  role.  Dilanyan stated that he had already expressed his assessment  of this statement during the hearing. "I have already mentioned that  a judge, by virtue of his position, is obliged to clarify the  circumstances of the case and is vested with powers in accordance  with the Law on the Constitutional Court. This means that the judge  takes a more active part in the process," the President of the  Constitutional Court of Armenia concluded.

As a reminder, the Constitutional Court is currently discussing an  appeal from seven political forces demanding a review of the  parliamentary election results. During the June 29 hearing, where the  judges' case was discussed, Safaryan asked opposition representatives  why they had omitted from their motions the fact that "the President  of the Russian Federation and a number of high-ranking officials also  made statements before the Armenian elections." She inquired whether  this could have influenced the election results. In response, Aram  Vardevanyan, a representative of the "Strong Armenia" bloc, recalled  that such a question could be raised by representatives of the "Civil  Contract" party, but not by a Constitutional Court judge. He  therefore stated that he would propose that the court reconsider the  issue of Seda Safaryan's participation in this process.