NAGORNO-KARABAKH PRESIDENT NOT TO RUN FOR THIRD TERM
by: Tigran Liloyan

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
October 11, 2006 Wednesday

Arkady Gukasyan, the president of the unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic, confirmed in Stepanakert on Wednesday "he has no intention
to seek re-election for a third term." He stated this in connection
with the publication of all sorts of suppositions that he intends to
run for presidency of Nagorno-Karabakh again and that the Constitution
of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was being adopted for the purpose.

"As a politician and a citizen" Gukasyan sees "no aim more important
than to achieve international recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic and building rule-of-law state," Gukasyan said, The existence
of a constitution is one of the most important prerequisites
for building a rule-of-law state, and all political forces in
Nagorno-Karabakh agree on this. He asserts "ill-wishers now exert
themselves to the utmost so that Nagorno-Karabakh should go on without
a constitution."

The president is sure that, adopting the Constitution,
"Nagorno-Karabakh will once again display to the world a high level
of democracy and will take the chance for a civilized change of
power." "This is something far from always achieved even by recognized
states in the post-Soviet space," the Karabakh leader said. In this
connection he sees the mains task as ensuring that the presidential
elections in Nagorno-Karabakh next year be fair.

Gukasyan expressed the hope that this statement of his "will put
a stop to all sorts of fabrications that may mar the international
image of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and mislead the public opinion
about adopting the Constitution of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic."