FORMER SECURITY CHIEF WINS NAGORNO-KARABAKH VOTE
Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
July 20 2007
Election officials in the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh
say the former head of the region’s security service has been elected
president.
According to preliminary results made public today by the
self-proclaimed republic’s election commission, Bako Sahakian won
the July 19 presidential ballot with 85.4 percent of the vote.
His main challenger, Deputy Foreign Minister Mais Maylian, won 12.2
percent. None of the three other candidates polled more than 1.5
percent. Voter turnout was 77.36 percent.
The Central Election Commission has reportedly pledged to examine 19
separate complaints of fraud submitted by Maylian.
Final results of the election are expected to be released later today.
Unrecognized Ballot
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war over the region from 1988 until a
1994 cease-fire was brokered. The conflict has been frozen ever since,
and negotiations continue on its future status.
Sahakian has said that he seeks full independence from Azerbaijan.
No country currently recognizes the independence of the self-declared,
predominantly ethnic-Armenian republic within Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan
has condemned the elections as illegal and illegitimate.
Likewise, no international organizations, including GUAM and the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), consider
the elections to be legitimate.
A spokesman for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau on European
and Eurasian Affairs, Chase Beamer, reiterated on July 19 that the
United States respects Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, According
to Azerbaijan’s Turan news agency.
He said the elections will not have an effect on the peace talks and
said the United States will continue to mediate a resolution of the
frozen conflict through the OSCE Minsk Group.
Ties To Armenia
Sahakian, 46, was born in Stepanakert. After serving in the Soviet
army he worked for nine years in a Stepanakert factory, then in 1990
he joined the unofficial Karabakh Self-Defense Army, of which he
became a deputy commander.
>From 1997-99 he served as an aide to Armenian Interior and National
Security Minister Serzh Sarkisian, who is now prime minister and
the frontrunner to succeed Robert Kocharian as Armenian president
next year.
In 1999, Sahakian was named Karabakh interior minister, and two years
later, National Security Service head.
He will replace Arkady Ghukasian, who held the presidential post for
two five-year terms.