We Demand Democratic Elections for the Patriarch of Constantinople: Paylan

Karo Paylan, an Armenian MP from Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), has responded to the elections for the representative of the Patriarch of Constantinople that took place on July 4 in Istanbul. This was reported by Ermenihaber.

Upon congratulating Bishop Sahak Mashalyan, who was elected as the new representative, Paylan stated: “First of all, I emphasize that it was important to hold the elections for the representative of the Patriarch. I congratulate the newly elected representative, but the elections were conducted incorrectly. Only clergy born in Turkey or those whose fathers are citizens of Turkey were eligible to participate in the elections for the representative.”

Paylan reminded that Turkey's Ministry of Interior has yet to respond to his inquiry regarding why the state intervened in the elections and delayed them by a week. He added that they now demand that democratic elections for the Patriarch of Constantinople be held in Turkey.