Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on Tuesday in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
YEREVAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st March, 2020) Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on Tuesday in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
The election date was set by the republic's Central Election Commission (CEC) back on January 20.
Voting has not been canceled despite coronavirus cases detected in the region. In Karabakh itself, there are no confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
A total of 14 candidates will compete for the post of the republic's president, including Foreign Minister Masis Mailyan, parliament speaker Ashot Ghulian, presidential spokesman David Babayan and others.
Ten parties and two party blocs have been registered to participate in the elections to the National Assembly (parliament).
A 5 percent electoral threshold has been set for parties, and 7 percent for party blocs.
The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh began in February 1988, when the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its secession from the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic. During armed confrontation in 1992-1994, Azerbaijan lost control of Nagorno-Karabakh and its adjacent areas. Since 1992, talks have been ongoing on peaceful settlement of the conflict with the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group, led by Russia, the United States and France.
