Strong Armenia: We expect two outcomes from RA Constitutional Court  regarding elections: either calling second round or declaring them  invalid

ArmInfo.We expect two outcomes from the Constitutional Court:  either calling a second round of the parliamentary elections or declaring their results invalid. This was stated by lawyer and member of the "Strong Armenia" bloc, Aram  Vardevanyan, in a conversation with journalists outside the  Constitutional Court building.

The lawyer explained that their statement consists of 84 pages,  meaning it is quite lengthy. "We believe the results of these  elections should be declared invalid. The Constitutional Court, as  the sole body administering constitutional justice and the exclusive  authority resolving electoral disputes, can make one of three  decisions: either invalidate the election results, schedule a runoff,  or determine the procedure for distributing mandates. We specifically  emphasize two options: scheduling a runoff or declaring the results  invalid," explained the Strong Armenia bloc member.

Vardevanyan also stated that the issue would be discussed orally in  court. When asked whether their political party trusts the court's  impartiality, the bloc member noted that there are judges on the  Constitutional Court whose participation in decision-making, in their  opinion, is impossible. Therefore, he said, appropriate petitions  will be filed. "And I believe that other judges, based on a majority  vote, are obligated to respond to this," Vardevanyan added. 

However, the lawyer disagreed with the assertion that the court's  decision could legitimize the election results. He explained that in  this case, appealing to the court regarding the legitimacy of the  elections could only have legal significance in one circumstance: if  the Constitutional Court invalidates the Central Electoral  Commission's (CEC) decision on the elections. "Because it must be  understood that the concept of legitimacy is not a legal category in  itself; it is a category with legal, political, and social  significance.  And society has already assessed these elections," the  lawyer noted.

Commenting on the Armenian authorities' claims that the opposition  secured such support through vote- buying, Vardevanyan noted the lack  of legal evidence to support this. In this regard, he recalled that  when it comes to criminal law, it is generally accepted that there  must be a completed judicial act, that is, a verdict.  "But that's  not the case. Meanwhile, regarding violations by the authorities, we  have both factual evidence and the Administrative Court's decision. A  complaint was also previously filed with the Constitutional Court.  This concerns hate speech, abuse of administrative resources, and the  actions of the Central Election Commission," the Strong Armenia bloc  member concluded.

As a reminder, Strong Armenia bloc representative Aram Vardevanyan  previously filed a petition with the Constitutional Court of Armenia  to annul the results of the June 7 National Assembly elections.