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Mayilyan, Sahakyan

There are also other manifestations showing that the pre-election situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is not that “close to ideal”. In particular, despite the fact that on May 7 the four main parties of the NKR – the Democratic Party of Artsakh, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) of Artsakh, Free Homeland and Movement-88 signed a joint statement supporting ex-director of the NKR National Security Service Bako Sahakyan as a presidential candidate, already the following week members of the Movement-88 party’s board stated that the chairman of this political organization, Eduard Aghabekyan, was not authorized to sign such a statement on behalf of the party.

And so, five candidates are running for president in the NKR – Vanya Avanesyan, Armen Abgaryan, Masis Mayilyan, Hrant Melkumyan and Bako Sahakyan. All candidates except the leader of the NKR Communist Party Hrant Melkumyan, are nominated in the order of civil initiative. Meanwhile, the incumbent president has already picked his favorite successor. On July 3, Ghukasyan said he considered Bako Sahakyan as the worthiest candidate for presidency. “Sahakyan is capable of rallying the people around himself for tackling major problems and challenges that the republic is facing. He enjoys popularity.” The statement was made not in Stepanakert, but in Yerevan, on the day of the presidential advisor’s protest.

Many tend to ascribe this inadequate behavior of Arman Melikyan to the fact that a certain part of public organizations operating in the NKR and Armenia are more inclined to back another presidential candidate, Masis Mayilyan. Editor of the Stepanakert-based “Demo” newspaper Gegham Baghdasaryan stated that the pre-election process in Nagorno Karabakh is so intricate that even “the devil will get confused.” On the other hand, it is evident to him that “the people of Karabakh would not have an alternative if Masis Mayilyan’s candidacy had not been nominated. The three other candidates support Bako Sahakyan.”

Mayilyan is the only presidential candidate who speaks about the prospects of Nagorno-Karabakh in his pre-election program. In particular, he emphasizes:

the discussion of the issue of borders is possible only after Azerbaijan de jure recognized the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh;
it is necessary to populate all liberated territories controlled by the NKR defense army.

Some political analysts think that Mayilyan’s ‘better-thought’ program is also the result of his activities. In particular, from 1992 to 1993 he was a leading specialist at the Department of Information and Press at the NKR State Defense Committee. From 1993, Mayilyan was a member of the NKR delegation at negotiations over the Karabakh conflict settlement.

Meanwhile, Ghukasyan-backed Bako Sahakyan usually ducks questions concerning territories, saying that similar talks may imperil Karabakh’s security.

Melikyan’s actions notwithstanding, politicians and observers in Armenia continue to discuss the subject of the pre-election campaign in Nagorno-Karabakh. The leader of the Democratic Party of Armenia, ex-advisor to the President of Armenia Aram G. Sargsyan thinks that in discussing this process, the accent should be placed on what political and legal solutions are offered by the presidential candidates in terms of the conflict settlement.

Expert Alexander Manasyan, notes that it is time Armenia recognized the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, and discussing the pre-election process attention should be focused not on personalities but on their programs.

Political analyst Levon Melik-Shahnazaryan says Stepanakert must do its utmost for the presidential election in the republic to be perceived by the international community as elections of a president and not a leader of the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh. According to him, no matter who becomes the president of Nagorno-Karabakh, it is necessary to try to stage elections that would be seen as legitimate by the international community.

Meanwhile, the international community represented by the chairman of the Council of Europe Ministerial Committee, Foreign Minister of Serbia Vuk Zheremik stated recently that the upcoming elections in Nagorno-Karabakh cannot serve the purpose of settling the conflict, and encumber the negotiating process. On July 4, NKR Foreign Minister Georgy Petrosyan responded with the following statement: “It is regretful that representatives of the Council of Europe – an organization with a mission to safeguard and promote the ideals and principles of pluralist democracy, human rights and rule of law – condemn the holding of elections in Nagorno-Karabakh.”

Campaigning in NKR will wrap up on July 17.