It seems as though the pre-election period is beginning to “warm up” in Karabagh. Two candidates have already announced that they will run in the 2007 presidential elections of Karabagh. The first to make the announcement was Deputy Foreign Minister of Karabagh, Masis Mailyan.
As for head of the National Security Service of Karabagh Bako Sahakyan, he told the “Free Artsakh” paper on April 14 that there is a good chance that he will run. With regard to the possible candidates of the presidential elections, Sahakyan mentioned that that is a very responsible decision for anyone who understands that the post of president is not as much a political advantage as it is a huge responsibility to the people and the destiny of the state.
“We have recently met with leaders of influential political parties and NGOs. They have asked me to co-operate with intellectuals, the youth, and veterans of World War II and the Artsakh war as well. During those meetings I have felt the honest support and can say that there is a good chance for me to run for president,” mentioned Bako Sahakyan.
“Have you already reached an agreement with the political parties about you running for president?” In response to this, he said:
“I said that there are due dates for that constituted by law. We are currently only dealing with the consultations. What’s more, if I am to make a final decision, then I will prefer getting nominated by the electorate so as not to offend any political party which I highly respect and whose support, frankly, I need.”
The names of the possible Karabagh presidential candidates that have been talked about for a couple of months now are finally clear. Political parties still have not oriented to this and continue their negotiations with other parties and the negotiations are mainly conducted regarding the united candidate. Out of the existing political parties of Karabagh, only “Free Homeland” has already decided, and member of the party’s presidency Hovik Jivanyan has declared that the political party will support Bako Sahakyan during the elections.
“First of all, we accept all that he has done in his life, and his personal traits, which serve as a full basis for considering Bako Sahakyan as the meritorious candidate. Our contacts with him have given our party members the opportunity to get acquainted with his visions of the future development of Karabagh, which are mainly similar to those of the “Free Homeland” party. We find that currently, Artsakh needs that kind of a leader, who will be able to unite the people in a creative, active field, implement radical reforms for the most important issues facing the country and reforms in many fields, for that matter. We also think that B. Sahakyan’s approach will be the best way for Karabagh to participate in the Karabagh conflict settlement. Besides that, Sahakyan has firm ties with our compatriots living abroad and thanks to that the framework of the cooperation between Karabagh and the Diaspora will be broadened,” said Jivanyan.
Let us recall that just like other parties, “Free Homeland” also announced that they are leading negotiations about forming a united candidate. The other political parties still have not made a decision. According to analysts, it would be right and logical if each presidential candidate nominated the Artsakh Democratic Party, which has been ruling for the past 10 years, otherwise the candidate will tear down his reputation. It is highly possible that no political party will nominate its candidate, rather will simply support any candidate nominated by the electorate. The nomination of the Karabagh presidential candidates will start on April 20 and end on May 5.