(APublic Radio of Armenia) – Patriarchate’s Locum Tenens Bishop Sahak Mashalian is likely to be elected Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople after all votes were counted in the first round of elections, Ermenihaber.am reports.
The Patriarch will be elected by secular and religious delegates.
The 17 religious delegated were elected on December 7 by the General Religious Assembly. On Sunday, December 8 Armenians of Istanbul cast their votes for the 103 secular delegates.
According to preliminary results presented by the organizing committee, the delegates supporting Sahak Mashalian have received 9008 votes, while supporters of Archbishop Aram Ateshian has received 3,529 votes.
The results indicate that 89 delegates will vote for Sahak Mashalian, while only 12 will cast their ballot for Archbishop Ateshian. One more person has been elected as independent delegate.
A total of 13,704 voters participated in the election; 753 ballots were invalid, 376 empty envelopes were thrown into the ballot box.
The name of the new Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople will be known on December 11.