ArmInfo.After summing up the results of the parliamentary and presidential elections, Artsakh appeared at a systemic-political crossroad. Director of the Armenian Center for National and Strategic Studies Manvel Sargsyan expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.
"Accordingly, the future of the political system is the most debated topic in today's Artsakh. The main problem is that the new president of Artsakh, Harutyunyan, is largely considered as an oligarch. And the possibility of the final dismantling of the Artsakh's free will suppression machine is practically not associated with him. There are serious concerns that the new president will take the path of restoring the effectiveness of this machine. Today, the situation has hung in the air and there is little time left to clear it, "he said.
According to the analyst's estimates, the current situation is based on the actualization of the possibility of changes after 28 years of a tough military-political regime in Artsakh, which has deprived the society of any opportunities to influence its fate. Nevertheless, it was the latest nationwide elections that demonstrated the unpreparedness of society, the authorities of Artsakh and Armenia for the formation of public administration bodies through free elections. According to Sargsyan, the bribery and falsification machine has again shown its effectiveness, again threatening the future of the political system.
Sargsyan recalled that the process of building a legal state in Artsakh has been distorted since mid-1992, primarily due to contradictions and differing party affiliation of the authorities of Armenia and Artsakh. And the war with Azerbaijan only worsened the situation in this regard. The attempt to restore formal state institutions after the end of the war was also unsuccessful. The real power was concentrated not in the hands the elected President Robert Kocharian, but in the hands of the commander of the NKR Defense Army, Samvel Babayan. The latter very quickly established a military criminal dictatorship, and the repression machine reached its finished form.
According to the analyst, another opportunity to restore the legitimate functions of state institutions and the democratization of public and political life arose after Babayan's overthrow, in the time of terrorist attack on October 27, 1999. This period lasted only until the victory of independent candidate Eduard Aghabekyan in the 2004 mayoral election of Stepanakert. Then, in order to strengthen their positions, the authorities formed a new party led by businessman Arayik Harutyunyan, who won the majority of votes in the 2005 elections and formed the government. "When Bako Sahakyan became president, the repressive machine was quickly restored, expanding its functions even to Armenia. We all witnessed its manifestation on March 1, 2008, in the course of the Berdzor events, Hayk Khanumyan's beating. The change of power in Armenia after the led to a tangible failure of the repression machine in Artsakh. However, with the connivance of the revolutionary authorities of Armenia in the 2020 state elections, Harutyunyan was able to take over the presidency and the majority of parliamentary seats in Artsakh with all the negative consequences and the alarming trends and expectations of return to the past ", Sargsyan concluded.