Tweet
NAGORNO-KARABAKH ELECTED THE PRESIDENT
by Yury Simonian
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
July 25, 2012 Wednesday
Official Baku broadened the list of non grata persons
Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, July 23, 2012, p. 6
OFFICIAL BAKU DECLARED ALL OBSERVERS WHO ARRIVED TO THE PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTIONS IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH REPUBLIC PERSONS NON GRATA; The central
election commission of unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR)
announced the final results of the presidential elections held on
July 19. Acting head of the republic Bako Saakian won the elections
with a 50% superiority over the nearest competitor. Inauguration of
the president elect will be held on September 7. The opponents of
Saakian recognized the results of the elections.
The central election commission of unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (NKR) announced the final results of the presidential
elections held on July 19. Acting head of the republic Bako Saakian
won the elections with a 50% superiority over the nearest competitor.
Inauguration of the president elect will be held on September 7. The
opponents of Saakian recognized the results of the elections.
According to the central election commission of NKR, more than 47,000
residents of the unrecognized republic of the 73,000 who came to the
polling stations voted for Saakian. His main rival Vitaly Balasanian
scored slightly more than 20,000 votes. Participation of the third
candidate Arkady Sogomonian can be symbolic taking into account
his result.
If some people expected that elections of the president of NKR would
take place according to a scenario popular in the post-Soviet space
and would lead to aggravation of the internal political situation they
were wrong. Soon after announcement of the results defeated Balasanian
released an address to the people of NKR and recognized the victory of
Saakian although with reservations. Balasanian announced that he would
be glad to congratulate the winner but would not do this because of
some breaches at the polling stations. According to his information,
the electorate was pressurized in some districts of the republic.
Contrary to such opinion, members of the monitoring groups did not
register breaches on the day of the elections. Some others said that
they were insignificant and could not have any effect on the result.
The elections were praised by co-chairs of the Armenian group of
the US Congress Frank Pallone and Ed Royce. Representatives of the
international institutions who visited Nagorno-Karabakh on that
day said that the elections of July 19 corresponded to democratic
standards and traditions.
The international community expectedly did not recognize the
presidential elections in Nagorno-Karabakh as legal. Official Baku
did not like such attitude because it demanded the Western partners
not to allow their organization at all and announced all observers
who arrived to NKR persons non grata. Alexei Martynov, director of
the institute of the newest states, called broadening of the black
list by the Azerbaijani authorities continuation of the policy of
isolationism. He said, "We will not be admitted to Baku? Well, we
will go to Stepanakert."
Along with this, we cannot say that there is similar optimism in
the Nagorno-Karabakh society. The comments mentioned definition
"illegal" with regard to the elections caused noticeable irritation in
Stepanakert. Masis Mailian, chair of the public council for foreign
policy and security of NKR, spoke about the need for revision for
the position of the co-chairs of the Minsk OSCE group who put the
word elections in brackets in the official document. Mailian says
that the earlier the OSCE intermediaries in the Nagorno-Karabakh
regulation start taking into account the real state of affairs the
more efficient will be their intermediary mission.
[Translated from Russian]
by Yury Simonian
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
July 25, 2012 Wednesday
Official Baku broadened the list of non grata persons
Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, July 23, 2012, p. 6
OFFICIAL BAKU DECLARED ALL OBSERVERS WHO ARRIVED TO THE PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTIONS IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH REPUBLIC PERSONS NON GRATA; The central
election commission of unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR)
announced the final results of the presidential elections held on
July 19. Acting head of the republic Bako Saakian won the elections
with a 50% superiority over the nearest competitor. Inauguration of
the president elect will be held on September 7. The opponents of
Saakian recognized the results of the elections.
The central election commission of unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic (NKR) announced the final results of the presidential
elections held on July 19. Acting head of the republic Bako Saakian
won the elections with a 50% superiority over the nearest competitor.
Inauguration of the president elect will be held on September 7. The
opponents of Saakian recognized the results of the elections.
According to the central election commission of NKR, more than 47,000
residents of the unrecognized republic of the 73,000 who came to the
polling stations voted for Saakian. His main rival Vitaly Balasanian
scored slightly more than 20,000 votes. Participation of the third
candidate Arkady Sogomonian can be symbolic taking into account
his result.
If some people expected that elections of the president of NKR would
take place according to a scenario popular in the post-Soviet space
and would lead to aggravation of the internal political situation they
were wrong. Soon after announcement of the results defeated Balasanian
released an address to the people of NKR and recognized the victory of
Saakian although with reservations. Balasanian announced that he would
be glad to congratulate the winner but would not do this because of
some breaches at the polling stations. According to his information,
the electorate was pressurized in some districts of the republic.
Contrary to such opinion, members of the monitoring groups did not
register breaches on the day of the elections. Some others said that
they were insignificant and could not have any effect on the result.
The elections were praised by co-chairs of the Armenian group of
the US Congress Frank Pallone and Ed Royce. Representatives of the
international institutions who visited Nagorno-Karabakh on that
day said that the elections of July 19 corresponded to democratic
standards and traditions.
The international community expectedly did not recognize the
presidential elections in Nagorno-Karabakh as legal. Official Baku
did not like such attitude because it demanded the Western partners
not to allow their organization at all and announced all observers
who arrived to NKR persons non grata. Alexei Martynov, director of
the institute of the newest states, called broadening of the black
list by the Azerbaijani authorities continuation of the policy of
isolationism. He said, "We will not be admitted to Baku? Well, we
will go to Stepanakert."
Along with this, we cannot say that there is similar optimism in
the Nagorno-Karabakh society. The comments mentioned definition
"illegal" with regard to the elections caused noticeable irritation in
Stepanakert. Masis Mailian, chair of the public council for foreign
policy and security of NKR, spoke about the need for revision for
the position of the co-chairs of the Minsk OSCE group who put the
word elections in brackets in the official document. Mailian says
that the earlier the OSCE intermediaries in the Nagorno-Karabakh
regulation start taking into account the real state of affairs the
more efficient will be their intermediary mission.
[Translated from Russian]