AZERBAIJAN’S BREAKAWAY REGION GOES TO POLLS
Susheela Hegde

All Headline News AHN
July 19 2007

Baku, Azerbaijan (AHN) – The presidential elections are being held
in Nagorno-Karabakh, a breakaway region of Azerbaijan, Thursday,
in a bid to strengthen its claim for a democratic independent state.

However, the elections are termed as illegal by Azerbaijan as the
region lies within its border.

"These are so-called elections conducted by the illegal regime which
has basically occupied this region of Azerbaijan. These so-called
elections have no legal effect because they contradict the norms and
principles of international law," The Azeri foreign ministry spokesman,
Khazar Ibrahim, is quoted by BBC as saying.

The polls in the breakaway region are not recognized by international
organizations. NATO spokesman James Appathurai said Tuesday the
alliance will not recognize the polls.

The region was a conflict zone with Armenia and Azerbaijan fighting for
the territory during 1988 to 1994. A ceasefire is in place since then,
however Azerbaijan claims the region its own while Armenia supports
an independent state, reports said.

However, no country has recognized the independence of the region.

There are five candidates contesting Thursday’s presidential polls.