Registration of MASK party rejected, legal options under review

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian Ministry of Justice has rejected the registration application for the newly founded MASK party, led by Hovik Aghazaryan and Hakob Aslanyan, according to a report by Aysor.am .

Aghazaryan confirmed they have reviewed the ministry’s rationale. Legal experts are now examining whether the grounds are valid and what steps should follow.

“Right now, our experts are evaluating the reasoning. We’ll decide in the next two to three weeks whether to challenge it in court, resubmit the documents, or organize a new convention,” Aghazaryan said.

He refrained from commenting politically on the decision, noting: “If we determine the rejection is baseless, we’ll go to court. But even if this is a deliberate delay or blockade by the authorities, it won’t significantly hinder our activities.”

When asked if they might attempt registration under a different name or with new founders, Aghazaryan said the name would not change. “No, we won’t change the name. If legal review confirms the registry's objections are valid, we’ll hold another convention and fix the issues. We’ll do everything to get registered.”

Regarding their place in the 2026 parliamentary elections, Aghazaryan described the political map as a circle with Civil Contract on the left, Kocharian-Sargsyan-aligned forces on the right, and MASK in the middle.

“We see ourselves as an independent force positioned between these two poles. While we’re not yet influential enough to lead such efforts, we’ll propose uniting the centrist space around a shared principle: remove Civil Contract from power, push Kocharian-Sargsyan forces out of the field as much as possible, form a transitional government for a year, then let centrist forces regroup or run individually.”