Five Armenian Patriarchs have served after the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. The synod of the Patriarchate has designated, with the votes of 25 of its 26 members, Aram Ateşyan as "Patrik Genel Vekili" (Turkish for Acting Patriarch) in 2010 because of the illness of the Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan. Some members of the Armenian community of Turkey criticised this move and asked for the election of a new Patriarch by universal suffrage instead. (It is estimated that some 20 thousand members of the community are eligible to vote in such an election.) At last, the synod decided to retire the Patriarch Mesrob II Mutafyan on October 26, 2016 and to organize an election for a new patriarch. Following the death of Patriarch Mesrob II, Abp. Sahak II Mashalian was elected Patriarch of Constantinople in 2019.