Nagorno Karabakh holds parliamentary polls

Agence France Presse — English
June 19, 2005 Sunday 6:50 AM GMT

STEPANAKERT, Azerbaijan June 19 — Parliamentary polls opened Sunday in
the self-proclaimed republic of Nagorno Karabakh, a mostly Armenian
enclave within Azerbaijan, in the face of strong opposition from
Azeri authorities.

Seven parties and 185 candidates are vying for places in Nagorno
Karabakh’s fourth parliament, with two thirds of the parliament’s 33
seats to be elected directly and one third under a proportional system.

Nagorno Karabakh’s authorities have said the vote is a chance to
prove to the world the territory’s independence.

On the eve of polling Nagorno Karabakh’s leader, Arkady Gukasyan,
promised “an honest and transparent vote.”

It was essential, Gukasyan said, that the vote come up to European
standards in order to avoid harming Nagorno Karabakh’s image and
“the process of peaceful settlement with Azerbaijan.”

“All attempts at violations, whoever the author, will be denounced and
initiators punished with the full severity of the law,” Gukasyan said.

However no foreign governments have sent observer missions, reflecting
the territory’s unresolved status, although some 100 non-governmental
monitors are attending, including from Iran, Russia, Ukraine and the
United States as well as the Central Asian former Soviet republics
and Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia republic.

Nagorno Karabakh is widely seen as propped up by Armenia, which
fought a war with Azerbaijan over the territory in 1993 and 1994,
leaving an estimated 25,000 people dead.

Azerbaijan’s authorities have denounced the vote as illegitimate and
Turkey, long at odds with Armenia and a stauch supporter of Azerbaijan,
also criticised the poll on Friday.

In his pre-election comments, Gukasyan rounded on opposition parties,
accusing them of “insinuations” and “libel” during campaigning,
a reference to charges that senior Karabakh officials had abused
their positions in order to win support.

“False rumors were circulated that the authorities sanctioned pressure
on the electorate, threatened people… this didn’t and couldn’t
happen,” Gukasyan said.

Ahead of the current poll, Armenia said it was ready to give up
seven other regions of Azerbaijan it occupied during the fighting,
once Nagorno Karabakh’s status has been settled.

Preliminary poll results are expected late Monday or early Tuesday.

For the results to be declared valid at least 25 percent of the 89,000
people eligible to vote must turn out.

The parliament is elected for a five-year term.