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U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has urges U.S. policymakers to remain engaged on religious freedom in Turkey and call on Turkish government to cease interference in elections of new Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople.

As the Commission reminded in a press statement, Turkish authorities have issued guidelines for the election of a new patriarch for the Armenian Apostolic Church. The guidelines reportedly include a new condition that would preclude clerics serving outside of Turkey from participating in the election and severely restrict the number of individuals eligible to stand for election. The election for patriarch is scheduled to take place on December 11, 2019.

In response, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chair Tony Perkins said, “The Turkish government has increasingly interfered in the internal affairs of religious communities by placing gratuitous conditions on electoral processes for religious leaders.” Perkins urged U.S. policymakers to raise the importance of this election with the Turkish government.

“This latest interference is just one of many that has deprived the Armenian Apostolic Church of its right to choose its spiritual leadership for almost a decade,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Gayle Manchin.