ICES recognizes elections in NKR to be in line with international standards

The official mission of observers of the International expert Centre for Electoral Systems (ICES) in Stepanakert has recognized the elections in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) to be in line with the international standards of electoral law and democratic act of free expression of the will of citizens.

According to the report prepared by the ICES, "the mission of 10 observers from Belgium, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Israel have conducted an assessment of the Constitution and the Electoral Code of the NKR, the electoral system of the parliamentary elections, the voters' list, the voting process at the electoral precincts, the counting process, and the process of summing up the elections."

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 3, the NKR held the voting at the parliamentary elections. The elections were attended by three parties represented at the Nagorno-Karabakh Parliament and four opposition parties. According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), the total turnout of voters at the parliamentary elections reached 70.6%.

Aleksand Tsinker, the President of the International expert Centre for Electoral Systems (ICES), has announced that "the elections held can be considered as a successful step in the construction of a legitimate democratic state."

Meanwhile, Baku officials have stated that the elections held in the NKR have no legal effect and will not be recognized by Azerbaijan. Earlier, the EU, the US, and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Georgia and Ukraine have announced their non-recognition of the election results.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.