AZERBAIJAN: Breakaway Nagorno Karakakh holds presidential elections

Record ID: 218260

  • Title: AZERBAIJAN: Breakaway Nagorno Karakakh holds presidential elections
  • Date: 19th July 2012
  • Summary: STEPENAKERT, NAGORNO-KARABAKH, AZERBAIJAN (JULY 19, 2012) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) TOP VIEW OF CITY VARIOUS OF CITY STREETS WOMEN WALKING INTO POLLING STATION INSCRIPTION ON PLAQUE READING: POLLING STATION NO. 7 FIRST VOTERS IN POLLING STATION BEING REGISTERED WOMAN CASTING BALLOT VARIOUS PEOPLE CASTING BALLOTS VOTERS QUEUING FOR REGISTRATION IN POLLING STATION ELECTI
  • Embargoed: 3rd August 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Azerbaijan
  • Country: Azerbaijan
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA716NL93ZL8TWAP9OFC8BPXEAF
  • Story Text: Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan's breakaway region linked to Armenia by a narrow land corridor and backed financially and militarily by Yerevan, Russia's close ally, held its fifth presidential elections on Thursday (July 19.) Residents of Stepanakert, a town in the South Caucasus mountains with an approximate population of 57, 000, began showing up at polling stations at eight o'clock in the morning (04 GMT) to cast their votes.
    Polling stations in 274 electoral districts of Nagorno-Karabakh, known locally as the Artsakh Republic, opened their doors for fewer then 100,000 eligible Nagorno-Karabakh voters, who chose between four different candidates, including incumbent president Bako Sahakyan.
    Campaign promises from all four candidates centered on the resolution of the region's long-standing problem - the status of the breakaway territory, which is disputed by Armenia and Azerbaijan.
    Many voters said Nagorno-Karabakh's status was at the forefront of their minds as they cast their ballots.
    "We can be an independent state. We can have certain hopes for our future if we consolidate around the idea of independent statehood," University professor Karen Aramian said after casting his ballot.
    "The presidential election is a very important event for us. We once again prove our dedication to building an independent democratic state," said Stepenakert resident Ashot Bakhshian.
    About 30,000 people were killed in fighting in the 1990s after Nagorno-Karabakh, populated mainly by Christian Armenians, broke away from Muslim Azerbaijan in the wake following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
    Energy-rich Azerbaijan, the host to international oil companies including BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil, refuses to recognize the results of the Nagorno-Karabakh elections, regarding the region as its own territory seized in the 1991-94 war by Armenian-backed forces, together with seven surrounding Azeri districts which form the land corridor with Armenia.
    Experts say the status quo suits both Armenia and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev who would not want a war that would put at risk Azerbaijan's energy network and its plans to pump 16 billion cubic metres of gas per year to Europe from 2017.
    An escalating conflict in the region, however, has the potential to set off a war, involving regional powers including Russia, Armenia, Turkey as well as NATO.
    Iran, which borders Nagorno-Karabakh, was neutral during the 1991-94 war and Azerbaijan says it wants to remain neutral in Iran's dispute over its nuclear programme. But tensions have mounted between Tehran and Baku over Azerbaijan's weapons purchases from Israel.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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