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NAGORNO-KARABAKH ADOPTS 1ST CONTROVERSIAL CONSTITUTION
TNA with RIA Novosti / Ankara
The New Anatolian, Turkey
Dec 12 2006
Azerbaijan's disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh overwhelmingly
voted in favor of its first controversial constitution to reaffirm
the predominantly Armenian region's independence from Azerbaijan,
the central election commission said Monday.
Nagorno-Karabakh residents voted Sunday in a referendum on the
republic's constitution, which was rejected by Azerbaijan as having no
legal meaning. More than 100 international observers and journalists
from Russia, France, the United States, Italy, Israel, Serbia and
other countries monitored the referendum.
Nagorno-Karabakh's leader Arkady Gukasian hailed the vote as a landmark
move that would "determine the Nagorno-Karabakh's people destiny." He
insisted the vote would not jeopardize peace talks. "The passage of the
constitution will have a positive impact on talks," he told reporters.
According to preliminary results, "A total of 78,389 voters (87
percent) out of 89,044 eligible voters participated in the poll,
with 77,279 people, or 98.58 percent of the electorate, casting their
ballots in favor of the constitution, while 549 people or 0.7 percent
voted against it," said Sergei Nasibyan, the chairman of the Central
Election Commission.
Nasibyan said there was no voter turnout threshold at the referendum,
but according to the unrecognized republic's legislation, at least
one-third of registered voters were required to vote in favor of the
constitution for it to be adopted.
"Dec. 10 can be regarded as Nagorno-Karabakh constitution day,"
Nasibyan said, adding that the commission will announce the
referendum's final results tomorrow.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a region in Azerbaijan that has been under the
control of Armenian and ethnic-Armenian Karabakh forces since a 1994
cease-fire ended a six-year separatist war that killed about 30,000
people and drove about 1 million from their homes.
The region's final status remains unresolved, and years of talks
under the auspices of international mediators have brought few
visible results.
Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic Azeri population fled the conflict more
than a decade ago, and large numbers of them have lived as internally
displaced people since then.
In December 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh held a referendum in which ethnic
Armenian residents voted overwhelmingly for independence.
Masis Mailian, deputy foreign minister in the Nagorno-Karabakh
administration, said the constitution was essential to codify the
structure of its administration and citizens' rights.
"It's necessary to formalize the already existing foundations of
state system and relations between the state and its citizens,"
Mailian told The Associated Press.
TNA with RIA Novosti / Ankara
The New Anatolian, Turkey
Dec 12 2006
Azerbaijan's disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh overwhelmingly
voted in favor of its first controversial constitution to reaffirm
the predominantly Armenian region's independence from Azerbaijan,
the central election commission said Monday.
Nagorno-Karabakh residents voted Sunday in a referendum on the
republic's constitution, which was rejected by Azerbaijan as having no
legal meaning. More than 100 international observers and journalists
from Russia, France, the United States, Italy, Israel, Serbia and
other countries monitored the referendum.
Nagorno-Karabakh's leader Arkady Gukasian hailed the vote as a landmark
move that would "determine the Nagorno-Karabakh's people destiny." He
insisted the vote would not jeopardize peace talks. "The passage of the
constitution will have a positive impact on talks," he told reporters.
According to preliminary results, "A total of 78,389 voters (87
percent) out of 89,044 eligible voters participated in the poll,
with 77,279 people, or 98.58 percent of the electorate, casting their
ballots in favor of the constitution, while 549 people or 0.7 percent
voted against it," said Sergei Nasibyan, the chairman of the Central
Election Commission.
Nasibyan said there was no voter turnout threshold at the referendum,
but according to the unrecognized republic's legislation, at least
one-third of registered voters were required to vote in favor of the
constitution for it to be adopted.
"Dec. 10 can be regarded as Nagorno-Karabakh constitution day,"
Nasibyan said, adding that the commission will announce the
referendum's final results tomorrow.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a region in Azerbaijan that has been under the
control of Armenian and ethnic-Armenian Karabakh forces since a 1994
cease-fire ended a six-year separatist war that killed about 30,000
people and drove about 1 million from their homes.
The region's final status remains unresolved, and years of talks
under the auspices of international mediators have brought few
visible results.
Nagorno-Karabakh's ethnic Azeri population fled the conflict more
than a decade ago, and large numbers of them have lived as internally
displaced people since then.
In December 1991, Nagorno-Karabakh held a referendum in which ethnic
Armenian residents voted overwhelmingly for independence.
Masis Mailian, deputy foreign minister in the Nagorno-Karabakh
administration, said the constitution was essential to codify the
structure of its administration and citizens' rights.
"It's necessary to formalize the already existing foundations of
state system and relations between the state and its citizens,"
Mailian told The Associated Press.