Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic
June 20 2005
Opposition Criticizes Vote In Nagorno-Karabakh
(RFE/RL)
20 June 2005 (RFE/RL) — The opposition bloc in the disputed
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is criticizing the region’s 19 June
parliamentary elections as unfair, RFE/RL’s Armenian and Azerbaijani
services reported.
Gegam Bagdasaryan, a representative of the opposition bloc, said on
20 June that the opposition accuses authorities of abusing their
administrative resources to influence the outcome of the election.
Early vote results show that the opposition took only three out of
the 33 seats in parliament in the voting.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a self-proclaimed republic, but it is not
recognized by the international community.
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war over the territory in the early
1990’s in which an estimated 25,000 people were killed and hundreds
of thousands of Azeris were driven from the territory.
Azerbaijan still claims the territory, which is under Armenian
control.
Azeri officials say said any vote in the region will remain illegal
until hundreds of thousands of Azeris banished from Nagorno-Karabakh
and seven surrounding regions are allowed to return.