Armenian opposition leader praises polls in Karabakh

Arminfo
21 Jun 05

YEREVAN

MP Aram Sarkisyan, leader of the Democratic Party of Armenia, which is
a member of the opposition Justice bloc, has rated highly the quality
of the parliamentary elections in Karabakh and expressed his
perplexity with the complaints of the Karabakh branch of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation – Dashnaktsutyun [ARFD] about electoral
irregularities.

“It is surprising and strange why the ARFD describes itself as an
opposition force in the Nagornyy Karabakh republic, but not in Armenia
where the socioeconomic situation is much worse, the quality of
elections is lower and the level of corruption is higher,” Sarkisyan
said.

At the same time, he says that the victory of the pro-government
forces in Artsakh [Karabakh] is explained not by the strength of the
authorities but by the weakness of the opposition: “Undoubtedly, there
are many problems and protesting voters in Karabakh, and the
opposition which received the post of mayor of Stepanakert has not
been able to do well.”