Parliamentary elections in the unrecognized republic of Nagorno-Karabakh have once again attracted the attention of the international observers in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict area.
Armenians in this region are making all possible efforts to force recognition of their republic as well as independence from Azerbaijan. These were the fifth elections to be held, but almost all the world's leading powers have condemned the election campaign.
The parliament of the unrecognized republic consists of 33 deputies, 16 of which are elected by majority vote and 17 by proportional election. In Nagorno-Karabakh 100% of population are Armenians and since the 1990's not a single Azerbaijani remains in this region, with a total amount of voters of 95,303. More than 70% of registered voters attended polling stations, in what was considered by the local authorities a great success and a high level of involvement of the population in political life. 110 observers, representing Yerevan, the State Duma of the Russian Federation, the parliaments of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, France, the USA, Germany, Argentina, Iran and some other European states gathered in Nagorno-Karabakh. This fact didn't affect the positions of the states, which recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
It is too early to speak about any political balance of power in the recently-elected parliament, but it is clear that the nationalist block will be better represented, since the propaganda machine creates dreadful pictures of a future in which Armenia accepts the demands of the international community and withdraws its forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, located near the Nagorno-Karabakh autonomous region. This perspective becomes more real with every new round of Azerbaijani-Armenian negotiations. The pressure on Yerevan has dramatically increased this year. The latest decision of the European parliament, calling on Armenia to withdraw troops from the occupied territories, is evidence of this process.
The supreme representative of the European Parliament on foreign policy issues, Catherine Ashton, said that the EU does not recognize the constitutional and legal basis of these elections. This view was shared by the US State Department. The central election commission (CEC) of Azerbaijan has severely criticized the parliamentary polls in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Chairman of the CEC, Mazahir Panahov, said that the observers of these illegitimate elections were violating international norms. Azerbaijan considers this act as a blatant violation of its sovereignty.
As for the peace process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it has obviously reached a dead-end, due to the unclear position of Armenia regarding the Madrid principles, proposed by the OSCE Minsk Group. They provide for withdrawal of Armenian troops from seven Azerbaijani regions, and the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh?s status should be postponed until a new round of negotiations. Azerbaijan accepts this means of resolution, and Armenia for its part is ready to withdraw troops in return for Nagorno-Karabakh.s independence. There are no clear ways out of this stalemate, and the Karabakh elections have just tangled the prospects for a peaceful settlement.
Alexander Krishtalev. Excusively for VK.
