Azerbaijan’s breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh enclave holds parliamentary elections

AP Worldstream; Jun 19, 2005

The Armenian-controlled enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh held parliamentary
elections on Sunday, with the ruling party and an opposition group
expected to win the most seats.

Candidates and parties are contesting 33 seats in the legislature of
the region, which has been in the hands of ethnic Armenians since a
war against Azerbaijani forces ended with a 1994 cease-fire.

No political settlement has been reached despite international efforts,
and the threat of a new armed conflict persists.

Observers believe the ruling Democratic Party of Artsakh and the
Dashnaktsutyun-Movement 88 bloc have the best chances in the election.

The bloc says the enclave’s leadership is not tough enough on asserting
its self-proclaimed independence and claims it is too willing to
consider ceding Azerbaijani territory it controls outside the borders
of the region.