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ELECTIONS IN KARABAKH: TWO GENERALS AMONG CANDIDATES CONTESTING PRESIDENTIAL POST IN STEPANAKERT
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow
18.06.12 | 13:23
A presidential election campaign in Nagorno-Karabakh kicks off on June
19, while a month later the fifth presidential vote in the history
of the [internationally] unrecognized Armenian republic will be held.
Among the four candidates are incumbent president Bako Sahakyan, MP,
former Deputy Defense Minister Vitaly Balasanyan, pro-rector of the
Stepanakert Branch of the State Agrarian University Arkady Soghomonyan
and Valery Khachatryan, presently unemployed.
Political observers expect the main competition will be between
two generals - General of the National Security Sahakyan and combat
general Balasanyan.
After retiring from his post of deputy defense minister, Balasanyan
actively engaged in politics. He became an adviser to Sahakyan,
but three years later had to resign. Officially, no reasons for his
departure were reported, but in private conversations Balasanyan spoke
about his advice being unwanted and much in Sahakyan's policies being
unacceptable to him.
Balasanyan has already accused Sahakyan of using administrative
resources and in an open letter to Sahakyan he urged him not to
forget that apart from being a candidate he is "still the incumbent
president".
"Since 2005, our authorities have accumulated a vast experience of
fraud, illegal involvement of law enforcement and national security
agencies in the electoral processes, an inflation of the number of
voters on electoral rolls, different kinds of pressure on voters, etc.
This has led to apathy in society, distrust of people in the electoral
process in the country and a decline of the image of the states,"
the letter said.
All the three parties that have representations in Karabakh's
parliament - the Democratic Party of Artsakh, the Free Homeland Party
and ARF Dashnaktsutyun - pronounced in favor of the candidacy of the
incumbent president. And, strangely enough, Dashnaktsutyun stopped
short of supporting Balasanyan, a non-party MP twice elected to the
National Assembly on its lists.
First, the ARF Artsakh Central Committee declared that they would
maintain neutrality and allow its members to vote freely, but then,
after a visit to Stepanakert by member of the ARF Bureau Hrant
Markarian, a statement was issued that the party would support
Sahakyan. Balasanyan has already described it as pressure on Artsakh
members of the party.
However, among those who intend to back Balasanyan are 2007
presidential candidate, and currently head of the Public Council for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Masis Mayilyan and ex-mayor of
Stepanakert Eduard Aghabekyan, which is an indication of the possible
formation of a sort of opposition bloc in Karabakh.
During the latest elections Mayilyan received the second largest number
of votes, but after the elections, he had to resign from his post as
deputy minister of foreign affairs. Pressure was also reportedly put
on his family and supporters. In its turn, the election of opposition
candidate Aghabekyan as mayor of Stepanakert in 2004 is called the
only democratic election in Karabakh. But after his election he
didn't have easy times, although in the 2007 presidential elections
Aghabekyan supported Sahakyan.
None of the four candidates have published their pre-election programs,
and it is not yet known what will be the difference between them. One
thing is clear - Balasanyan will talk about the transformation of
the economic system now concentrated in the hands of a few people,
as well as a more active foreign policy. Sahakyan will insist on the
continuation of the current economic policy, which officially ensures
up to 8-9 percent economic growth annually. He will also have to answer
the question why for a year now there is no [fully appointed] foreign
minister - Georgiy Petrosyan still serves as acting foreign minister.
There will be 274 polling stations in Karabakh, another one will be
in the NKR representation in Yerevan. Karabakh officially has 97,664
eligible voters.
From: Baghdasarian
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow
18.06.12 | 13:23
A presidential election campaign in Nagorno-Karabakh kicks off on June
19, while a month later the fifth presidential vote in the history
of the [internationally] unrecognized Armenian republic will be held.
Among the four candidates are incumbent president Bako Sahakyan, MP,
former Deputy Defense Minister Vitaly Balasanyan, pro-rector of the
Stepanakert Branch of the State Agrarian University Arkady Soghomonyan
and Valery Khachatryan, presently unemployed.
Political observers expect the main competition will be between
two generals - General of the National Security Sahakyan and combat
general Balasanyan.
After retiring from his post of deputy defense minister, Balasanyan
actively engaged in politics. He became an adviser to Sahakyan,
but three years later had to resign. Officially, no reasons for his
departure were reported, but in private conversations Balasanyan spoke
about his advice being unwanted and much in Sahakyan's policies being
unacceptable to him.
Balasanyan has already accused Sahakyan of using administrative
resources and in an open letter to Sahakyan he urged him not to
forget that apart from being a candidate he is "still the incumbent
president".
"Since 2005, our authorities have accumulated a vast experience of
fraud, illegal involvement of law enforcement and national security
agencies in the electoral processes, an inflation of the number of
voters on electoral rolls, different kinds of pressure on voters, etc.
This has led to apathy in society, distrust of people in the electoral
process in the country and a decline of the image of the states,"
the letter said.
All the three parties that have representations in Karabakh's
parliament - the Democratic Party of Artsakh, the Free Homeland Party
and ARF Dashnaktsutyun - pronounced in favor of the candidacy of the
incumbent president. And, strangely enough, Dashnaktsutyun stopped
short of supporting Balasanyan, a non-party MP twice elected to the
National Assembly on its lists.
First, the ARF Artsakh Central Committee declared that they would
maintain neutrality and allow its members to vote freely, but then,
after a visit to Stepanakert by member of the ARF Bureau Hrant
Markarian, a statement was issued that the party would support
Sahakyan. Balasanyan has already described it as pressure on Artsakh
members of the party.
However, among those who intend to back Balasanyan are 2007
presidential candidate, and currently head of the Public Council for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Masis Mayilyan and ex-mayor of
Stepanakert Eduard Aghabekyan, which is an indication of the possible
formation of a sort of opposition bloc in Karabakh.
During the latest elections Mayilyan received the second largest number
of votes, but after the elections, he had to resign from his post as
deputy minister of foreign affairs. Pressure was also reportedly put
on his family and supporters. In its turn, the election of opposition
candidate Aghabekyan as mayor of Stepanakert in 2004 is called the
only democratic election in Karabakh. But after his election he
didn't have easy times, although in the 2007 presidential elections
Aghabekyan supported Sahakyan.
None of the four candidates have published their pre-election programs,
and it is not yet known what will be the difference between them. One
thing is clear - Balasanyan will talk about the transformation of
the economic system now concentrated in the hands of a few people,
as well as a more active foreign policy. Sahakyan will insist on the
continuation of the current economic policy, which officially ensures
up to 8-9 percent economic growth annually. He will also have to answer
the question why for a year now there is no [fully appointed] foreign
minister - Georgiy Petrosyan still serves as acting foreign minister.
There will be 274 polling stations in Karabakh, another one will be
in the NKR representation in Yerevan. Karabakh officially has 97,664
eligible voters.
From: Baghdasarian