ANY CHOICE IS PART OF KARABAGH’S FATE
By Karine Mangassarian

Yerkir.am
July 20, 2007

The citizens of Nagorno Karabagh Republic elected the president on
July 19.

91,166 citizens had the right to vote. According to the Electoral
Code of Nagorno Karabagh Republic the elections are considered to be
valid if 25% of the voters participate.

Summarizing the first results of the elections as of 11 o’clock
yesterday the Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission of the
Nagorno Karabagh Republic Sergey Nasibian stated that the elections can
be considered valid because the minimal threshold of 25% was overcome.

President of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic Arkadi Ghukassian said in
an interview after he voted, "The President that will be elected will
fulfill his duties as the President with honor." Ghukassian believes
Karabagh will inevitably become a party to the negotiations because
this is the only way for the settlement of the conflict.

"If Karabagh does not participate in the negotiations, there is no
point in the negotiations because they cannot lead to the conflict
settlement. The person who is elected to be the President of Nagorno
Karabagh Republic will take up this responsibility. I am sure the
Nagorno Karabagh Republic will be in good hands and the person who
is elected to be the President will fulfill these duties with honor,"
Ghukassian stated.

Representatives of the non-recognized republics in the CIS territory
were observing elections in Nagorno Karabagh. Observers from
Predniestrovye, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia observed the elections
in Karabagh.

Representatives of NGO’s, authorities and media from Armenia, USA,
Italy, Greece, Germany, Serbia, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Macedonia,
France, Great Britain, Croatia observed the elections. The observers
stated that judging from the previous elections and the referendum
it can be stated that the voters actively participate in the elections.

"The voters are very active because the population in Karabagh
treats the issue with a high sense of responsibility realizing that
any elections or referendums are a part of its fate," one of the
observers noted.

The observers were mostly interested in the amendments to the
Electoral Code of Nagorno Karabagh Republic. Chairman of the Central
Electoral Commission Sergey Nassibian said the observers pointed out
the necessity for such amendments after the parliamentary elections
in 2005 and the referendum in 2006. Some of the amendments were made
based on the observers’ recommendations.

The observers expressed the opinion that the authorities in Karabagh
have exerted great efforts to hold the elections in the proper manner.

Representative of the ARF’s Supreme Body, Chairman of the National
Assembly’s Standing Committee on External Relations Armen Rustamian
believes the people who accomplished their independence going through
suffering will never yield its right to make a choice and to elect
its authorities to anyone. Rustamian traveled to different regions
of Artsakh together with the observation mission from Armenia.

Commenting on his impressions from the elections Rustamian stated that
the most important impression is that the population of Karabagh prove
with every election that they are the masters of their independence,
that they are going to consolidate their independence and show to
the entire world that even if the international community does not
recognize Nagorno Karabagh’s independence, the Nagorno Karabagh
Republic is developing and the democratic elections prove this.

"I am impressed with these elections and I am sure that the
international observers that are present in Artsakh today can have
no other impressions. I congratulate the heroic people of Artsakh
with these elections," Rustamian concluded.

BBC aired a video material telling about the presidential elections in
Karabagh. It was noted in the material that a mosque is being renovated
in Artsakh which proves that there are no acts of vandalism there. One
of the representatives of the authorities in Karabagh is further
quoted in the video material saying that the presidential elections
are another step forward towards Karabagh’s international recognition.

The population of Karabagh wants to prove to the international
community that it has chosen the democratic way of development. The
BBC’s reporter has also commented on the counter-actions on the
part of Azerbaijan noting that during the Soviet times the level of
socio-economic development in Karabagh was not very high and the
war posed new obstacles for Karabagh’s development. Nevertheless,
Karabagh is now developing and progressing with support from Armenia
and the Armenian Diaspora, the BBC reporter concluded in the material.

The Central Electoral Commission of Nagorno Karabagh Republic will
summarize the initial voting results within 24 hours after the voting.