NAGORNO-KARABAKH HOLDS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
July 19, 2007 Thursday

Presidential elections are held in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh
republic on Thursday.

About 90,000 citizens are to elect the president for five years.

Over 270 polling stations opened in Nagorno-Karabakh’s first city of
Stepanakert early in the morning.

Five candidates are running.

Public opinion polls suggest that the struggle will be between Deputy
Foreign Minister Masis Mailyan, 40, and Major-General Bako Saakyan, 47,
who was the chief of the Nagorno-Karabakh national security service.

August ends the second five-year mandate of Nagorno-Karabakh’s
president Arkady Gukasyan, who refused to run for the third term.

The international community does not recognize the elections in
Nagorno-Karabakh republic that has not been recognized by any state,
including Armenia that gives Stepanakert the military and financial
aid.

It is believed in the world the elections could affect settlement
of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, to which the OSCE Minsk Group on
Nagorno-Karabakh co-chaired by Russia, France and the US attends.

There is a conviction in Nagorno-Karabakh that only its elected leader
with the people’ mandate can negotiate settlement.

"Armenia supports Stepanakert’s steps aimed at further democratization
of the country," Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Karapetyan said
on Wednesday.

"The democratization processes in the Nagorno-Karabakh republic,
including the presidential elections, will make a contribution to
development of law and civil institutions," he said.

Azerbaijan’s central election commission called the presidential
elections in Nagorno-Karabakh "illegitimate".

It said "such actions in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is an in inalienable
part of Azerbaijan, contradicts the norms of international law,
the Constitution and laws of the Azerbaijani Republic".

Observers from several states arrived in Nagorno-Karabakh for
monitoring the elections, including three members of the Russian
State Duma lower house of parliament.

Vice Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly, Ishkhan Zakaruyan,
leads a delegation of observers from the Armenian parliament.