No grounds for annulling parliamentary election results - minister 

ArmInfo.Opposition political forces' claims to the Constitutional Court regarding the results of Armenia's latest parliamentary elections are futile. Armenian Justice Minister Srbuhi Galyan stated this in a conversation with journalists  before the court's latest hearing.

However, the Justice Minister added that the final decision still  rests with the Constitutional Court. "It's clear to us that they have  no prospects. But the final decision will be made by the  Constitutional Court of Armenia," Galyan stated.

Speaking about the positions of the political forces, the Justice  Minister noted that they generally differ. At the same time, she  pointed out the similarities in the positions of three specific  political forces: the Strong Armenia bloc, the Armenia bloc, and the  Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP). "We already provided our assessment  during the meeting. The positions of the three opposition forces-the  Strong Armenia bloc, the Armenia bloc, and the PAP-are virtually  identical. The Wings of Unity Party also supports them to a certain  extent. At the same time, the facts presented by the For the Republic  and Democracy, Law, Discipline (DOK) parties differ in content,"  Galyan stated.

For example, according to her, the Civil Contract Party supports the  position of the For the Republic and DOK parties that vote-buying  occurred during the elections. "We agree with these facts. But we  disagree with the position that this is grounds for invalidating the  election results. Our overall position is that none of the facts  presented provide grounds for annulling the election results," the  minister emphasized. Galyan explained how they could simultaneously  accept the fact of vote-buying and simultaneously accept the election  results. According to her, much in this matter depends on the scale  of such violations. 

"We believe that each such case should be assessed by law enforcement  agencies. We see that such an assessment is already being made, and  this work is ongoing. In each such case, if the accused are found  guilty, they will face the harshest punishment. This is our  position," noted the head of the Armenian Ministry of Justice.

Regarding the fact that the Constitutional Court is still considering  complaints challenging the parliamentary election results, and the  ruling Civil Contract party is already forming parliament and  distributing leadership positions, Galyan noted that the election  results are considered valid until a decision is made otherwise. In  her opinion, what is happening in the party is another manifestation  of democracy, since "positions are not handed out, but allocated  through voting." "This process should not cause concern.  It is a  natural process after the elections," Galyan concluded. As a  reminder, on June 19, seven political forces filed petitions with the  Constitutional Court of Armenia demanding that the results of the  parliamentary elections held on June 7 be declared invalid. On June  21, the Constitutional Court decided to consolidate all cases into a  single proceeding. The first hearing of the Constitutional Court of  Armenia began on June 26. The deadline for the court to issue a  ruling is July 4.