Parliamentarian: The decision to hold elections was made in Artsakh

ArmInfo. The decision to hold elections was made in Artsakh and by Artsakh authorities. Of course, public health is above all, but nevertheless, they made this decision based on the current situation, possibly due to the specifics of the  Artsakh domestic political situation. Tatevik Hayrapetyan, MP from  the My Step parliamentary faction, expressed a similar opinion to  ArmInfo.

To note, on April 12 Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan  in his  statement on the introduction of a state of emergency and the holding  of the second round of elections , in particular, noted that all  domestic political events in Artsakh have been implemented in  coordination with the top leadership of Armenia.

There is a widespread opinion in Artsakh that this Sahakyan's  statement is nothing more than an attempt to share and even shift the  responsibility for moral, political and legal lawlessness of all the  last days in Artsakh to the highest political leadership of Armenia,  more precisely to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Today, on April 14, the second round of the presidential election is  taking place in Artsakh with the participation of one candidate -  Arayik Harutyunyan. The second candidate, Masis Mayilyan, called on  the Artsakh people to boycott the second round, substantiating it  that it is  impossible to held the elections, in connection with the  threat of the spread of the coronavirus. According to the results of  the first round, Harutyunyan won 49.6% of the votes, Masis Mailyan -  26.7% of the votes.

According to MP, at first glance, the decision to hold a second round  of elections in the context of the spread of coronavirus in Artsakh  is contrary to logic. At the same time, Hayrapetyan noted that the  elections are held under severe restrictions, the conditions imposed  by the Artsakh authorities in a state of emergency. At the same time,  according to her estimates, one way or another, it is impossible to  completely neutralize the risks, given the rate of infection, in  either the first or second round of elections.

"I can't assess the decision of the Artsakh authorities to hold  elections in such conditions. At the same time, in his latest  statement, President Sahakyan, taking into account the impending  uncertainty, described all these risks as a necessity. With the aim  of forming a legitimate government as soon as possible, capable of  overcoming the current Artsakh people challenges. In the end, it is  not clear how long it would take to postpone the second round, and  whether this will lead to new problems, " she emphasized.

In general, in Hayrapetyan's opinion, the situation in Artsakh should  not be assessed unequivocally, which is evidenced by the call of one  of the candidates to boycott the elections. The parliamentarian  acknowledges the presence in this situation of actions that  constitute a problem for the conduct of elections.

At the same time, taking into account the political background, the  experience of  incumbent President Sahakyan, Hayrapetyan does not  believe that such haste may be due to his desire to quickly take off  his responsibility for the situation in Artsakh. In this light, the  parliamentarian assesses the decision of Sahakyan to hold elections  in the context of the coronavirus pandemic as quite complicated and,  according to the estimates of the Artsakh authorities, is in tune  with the current situation in Artsakh.