YEREVAN, (Reuters) – Breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh held a parliamentary election on Sunday, a month after the collapse of a plan to end hostility between Armenia and Turkey and ease tension in the south Caucasus.
Most candidates and parties insist on independence for Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan, while some want the region to become part of Armenia. Officials see the poll as part of a process of institution building in the disputed enclave.
Azerbaijan, which is backed by ethnically related Turkey, criticised the election as illegal.
The tiny mountainous region, mainly populated by Christian Armenians, seceded from Muslim Azerbaijan and proclaimed independence after a war in the early 1990s that killed some 30,000. Its independence is not recognised by any country.
Azerbaijan wants Nagorno-Karabakh back, if necessary by force. More than 15 years of mediation have failed to produce a final peace deal and the threat of war is never far away in a key energy transit region to the West.
Turkey, Azerbaijan’s energy trading partner in the region, closed the border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with a close Muslim ally in its losing battle with Armenian-backed fighters in Karabakh.
The breakaway region has seen an increase in tension since Armenia and Turkey announced their rapprochement last year. Azerbaijan feared its interest in Nagorno-Karabakh would be sacrificed as part of a strategic deal.
The accord crumbled last month, when Armenia suspended its ratification following Turkish demands that it first reach terms over Nagorno-Karabakh — a condition Turkey set to appease Azerbaijan, an oil and gas producer which hosts oil majors including BP (BP.L), ExxonMobil (XOM.N) and Chevron (CVX.N).
“Democracy is one of the most important values for us,” Nagorno-Karabakh leader Bako Sahakyan told reporters after voting, urging the next parliament to take further steps towards independence.
Polls closed at 8 p.m. and an election commission spokesman said the result would not be clear until Monday morning.
Parties, which include pro-government Free Motherland, Democratic Party of Artsakh and Dashnaktsutiun as well as opposition, but not popular Communist Party, will need to clear a six-percent threshold to get into the parliament.
Azerbaijan condemned the poll.
“The ‘new election farce’ in the occupied territories violates Azerbaijan’s constitution and the norms of international law,” Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) said in a statement.
Azerbaijan has warned observers against monitoring the poll. “Nagorno-Karabakh is Azeri territory and anyone visiting it without permission from the Azeri side will be declared persona non grata and will not be able to visit Azerbaijan,” said Elkhan Polukhov, a foreign ministry spokesman. (Additional reporting by Afet Mehtiyeva in Baku; Writing by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Maria Golovnina)
