New Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople elected

(Ahval) - Bishop Sahak Maşalyan has been elected as the 85th Istanbul Armenian Patriarch by receiving 102 votes of the 119 member committee on Wednesday, Hürriyet newspaper reported.

The other candidate, Acting Patriarch Aram Ateşyan, received 16 votes, while one vote was invalid, the newspaper said.

The Patriarch, which is the highest position in the Armenian community from both a religious and social perspective, is also recognised by the state and internationally as the leader of Armenians in the country.

The election of the new patriarch has raised a great deal of controversy over a regulation which prevented most candidates from running.

The Turkish Interior Ministry’s regulation, which included a stipulation that candidates must come from within the Patriarchate, effectively ruled out 10 out of the 13 possible candidates.