On July 19, the presidential elections were held in theNagorno-KarabakhRepublic(theRepublicofArtsakh). 73,4% of the voters participated in the elections. International observers from 22 countries, as well as local representatives of civil society and political parties monitored the elections. According to the international observers’ preliminary estimate, the elections were held in compliance with the democratic standards and participation of several candidates thus ensuring free expression of will of the republic’s citizens.
The level of the elections held in theNagorno-KarabakhRepublicis comparable with the level of elections in the advanced democratic countries, and testifies to the irreversibility of the process of building a sovereign and independent state, commitment of our people to the ideals of freedom, democracy and peace building. The elections have once more demonstrated the correctness of the path chosen in the 1991 referendum on independence. With every election the people of the NKR express their firm will to continue this path and the return of the NKR to the past is out of the question.
In this regard, we consider it necessary to state that the participation in the elections and the formation of authorities via honest and fair elections is one of the fundamental rights fixed in the international law and their ignorance and non-recognition is a gross violation of the law.
The speculations that the elections in the NKR may hinder the process of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement are groundless and pursue propaganda goals. The will of the NKR people is crucial in the conflict settlement process and this is fully recognized by the international community and the mediators.
Development of democracy is a fundamental basis of state building in the NKR and corresponds to the interests of the civilized world community. That is why the attitude towards the presidential elections held in the NKR cannot be stipulated by subjective opinion of several political circles displaying conformism to the caprices of the officialBaku.
Stepanakert, July 20, 2012