Elections in Nagorno-Karabakh should not have any impact on the peaceful settlement of the conflict, OSCE Chairman-in-Office says

MADRID 20 July, 2007 - Efforts to resolve the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh should not be hindered by the recent so-called “presidential elections” in the area, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, said today.

“The OSCE does not recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh and therefore, these elections should not have any impact or any significance on the solution of the conflict,” Minister Moratinos said.

The Chairman-in-Office reiterated his support to the efforts of Co-Chairmen of the Minsk Group to facilitate a peaceful settlement in the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict.

For PDF attachments or links to sources of further information, please visit: http://www.osce.org/item/25724.html

IN COUPLE OF WEEKS WESTERN DIPLOMATS WILL FORGET THAT THEY “DID NOT RECOGNIZE” ELECTIONS IN KARABAKH

PanARMENIAN.Net
20.07.2007 18:54 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The people of Nagorno Karabakh voted for themselves
but not for international structures, Paul Williams, the head of the
Public International Law and Policy Group (PILPG), which observed
the NKR presidential elections, told a news conference in Yerevan.

“Their aim was to elect the President and they succeeded brilliantly. I
am convinced that in a couple of weeks western diplomats will forget
that they “did not recognize” elections in Karabakh,” Mr Williams said.

He also noted that the conclusions of the PILPG on the NKR elections
will be submitted to consideration of the U.S. Congress.

“The U.S. observation mission attended 50 polling stations and met
with representatives of executive structures and NGOs as well as with
observers from other states,” he said.

Karabakh people proved adherence to democracy July 19

20.07.2007 13:53 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The presidential elections in Nagorno Karabakh were free, transparent and met the NKR laws and international standards, the U.S. observation mission said July 20. According to Professor Vladimir Matic, the complaints that the CEC received July 19 were minor while the Commission quickly responded to all alerts. The mission noted the high appearance of the voters. “This is also a sign of democracy, for the people have exercised their right to rule their life. The NKR has fixed considerable progress,” Matic said.

He said the mission members held meetings with the NKR leadership and presidential contenders. “These were not protocol meetings but thorough discussion of the election process,” he noted.

“We are often asked why we came here. I will answer. Our organization considers elections to be the most important attribute of democracy development,” he said adding that the people of Karabakh proved adherence to democracy July 19.

Matic said the U.S. observers attended 47 polling stations and their report will be posted on their web site and submitted to the NKR CEC, the IA Regnum.

Separatist Saakyan wins Nagorno-Karabakh poll

By Hasmik Mkrtchyan

STEPANAKERT, July 20 (Reuters) - Bako Saakyan, a former security chief, has won 85 percent of the votes in a leadership election in the Azeri breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, the central election commission said on Friday.

The data is preliminary and final results will be announced later on Friday.

Karabakh declared independence from Azerbaijan in the 1990s but no country has recognised it. The 46-year-old Saakyan says he wants full independence for the enclave from Azerbaijan, and has vowed to make the sliver of land and its 140,000 people “an example of democratic rule”.

“I like Saakyan’s programme because he promised to raise pensions and give financial assistance to people,” said 66-year-old Shura Sachinyan, an ethnic Armenian refugee.

Muslim Azerbaijan, which lost control of Nagorno-Karabakh after a war against Armenia in the early 1990s, has denounced the election as illegal under international law.

Analysts said the vote could be used by the ethnic Armenian enclave to affirm independence from Azerbaijan.

Karabakh leader Arkady Gukasyan, who is stepping down after holding the post for two five-year terms, has tried to make a parallel with the Serbian province of Kosovo, saying that if Kosovo gets independence then Karabakh should have it too.

The election was largely personality driven. Saakyan’s main rival, the 39-year-old Masis Mailyan, who also wants full independence, has won just over 12 percent of the vote, the preliminary data showed.

The commission said turnout had been around 77 percent.

Many of the Azeri minority fled during fighting which killed more than 35,000 people before a ceasefire was brokered in 1994. The region is now populated almost entirely by ethnic Armenians, who enjoy Christian Armenia’s backing.

Armenian President Robert Kocharyan is a former leader of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Mailyan said he hoped eventual international recognition of Kosovo, populated mainly by ethnic Albanians, will create an important precedent leading to officially accepted independence for Karabakh.

Considering the activity the same Russian language bloggers demonstrated in connection with the Liberated Territories around Karabakh, such lack of interest is simply surprising for me.

Azerbaijan breakaway elects new president

From correspondents in Stepanakert, Azerbaijan

July 20, 2007 06:25am
Article from: Agence France-Presse

VOTERS went to the polls today in Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorny Karabakh to elect a new president for this isolated, ethnic Armenian-controlled mountain enclave.

Early results showed Bako Sahakian, a former head of the state security service, storming to victory.

With 30 per cent of the votes counted, Mr Sahakian was well ahead with 87.1 per cent of the vote, the central elections commission said.

His nearest rival, deputy foreign minister Masis Maylian, placed a distant second with 11.2 per cent of the vote.

[…]

Many voters said they preferred Mr Sahakian because of his record in the security services.

“I like Masis very much, but now is not the time for intellectuals,” said Armen Martirosian, 41, after voting for Mr Sahakian. “As long as the war is not over we need a strong person in charge.”

[…]

But Mr Maylian, who has accused the authorities of campaigning against him, said his office had filed 14 complaints with the elections commission over alleged irregularities.

He rejected claims that he was hurting Karabakh’s chances of winning international recognition by raising questions about the election’s democratic credentials.

“If we love our country and we want the civilised world to recognise us, we must be democratic,” he said.

According preliminary data, Bako Sahakyan leading in NKR presidential election

20.07.2007 00:10 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ According preliminary data provided by the NKR CEC by midnight, ex-Director of the NKR National Security Service Bako Sahakyan is leading in NKR presidential election with 87% of votes. He was backed by 17933 voters. Former Deputy Foreign Minister Masis Mailyan garnered 11,22% (2137 votes). Leader of Artsakhi Communist Party, head of the Control Service of the NKR Government’s Administration Hrant Melkumyan received 0,82% (173 votes), NKR NA member Armen Abgaryan – 0,5% (102 votes), lecturer at the Artsakh State University professor Vanya Avanesyan – 0,32% (66 votes). By the moment votes have been counted in 80 out of 279 polling stations.