Monday, April 6 2020 15:14

ArmInfo. Active political competition between various forces in Artsakh is an unprecedented phenomenon,  Director of the Yerevan-based Caucasus Institute,  political scientist Alexander Iskandaryan stated at today's online  discussions on the topic of the electoral processes in the NKR.

He noted that recently such processes have often taken place in other  unrecognized republics of the post- Soviet space: "We saw a similar  situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and they took place somewhat  differently in Transnistria as well."

Post-war consolidation lasted longer in Artsakh than in other  republics, since here people live literally in the front-line zone  and feel real danger from the enemy. Now this feeling begins to pass.  The state is being established, and as a result, the competitiveness  of political forces is intensifying>, the political scientist noted.  Iskandaryan said that political competition in the unrecognized  republics comes in the form that we are now seeing in the NKR. <In  unrecognized states, as a rule, the culture of normal elections,  which takes place in democratic countries, has not yet developed. And  this competition does not occur between political programs, but  <honest people> compete with <unfair people>. As a rule, this is  perceived by the citizens of these countries>, the expert noted.

According to him, it was recorded that people were attracted to the  plots by not quite honest methods.  <There was a lot of evidence that  on the part of one of the candidates there were cases of bribes,  people were brought to the vote by persuasion. Another candidate  showed a different approach, he tried to politically attract people  to the polls. This is not a struggle between the new and the old,  both persons worked in the state apparatus under the previous  authorities. And the appearance of this competition is normal>, said  Iskandaryan. <The fact that Arayik Harutyunyan fought for every vote  on March 28.29, is evidence that he hoped to complete the process in  the first round. Now there is a crisis, you can call it a crisis of  growth or a crisis of the electoral system, you can call it a  political crisis. This is a transfer of power, which is always  problematic in our countries>, the expert emphasized.

As for the further forecast, the political scientist said that it is  rather difficult to predict how events will develop. <Arayik  Harutyunyan will take part in the second round of elections, and  unlike Masis Mayilyan, his legitimacy will be extremely weakened,  therefore, in the future, any development of events is possible.   This also happened in Armenia with Serzh Sargsyan.. If Masis Mayilyan  wins, the parliamentary majority will still remain with Harutyunyan,  whose party won the parliamentary elections. And such systems work  very poorly,> Iskandaryan said.  According to the political  scientist, the rivalry will continue, not only at polling stations,  but also on the streets. "It all depends on how far both candidates  are willing to go, and how it will work," Alexander Iskandaryan  concluded.  It should be noted that on March 31 the presidential and  parliamentary elections were held in Artsakh. But since none of the  presidential candidates won more than 50% of the vote, the second  round of the presidential election will be held on April 14. In the  parliamentary elections, the Free Homeland party led by Harutyunyan  won 40.4% of the vote in the United Civil Alliance bloc.