“Media Advocate” will observe the Artsakh general elections

Today is a day of silence in Artsakh, which means that the pre-election campaign is forbidden. Tomorrow the presidential and National Assembly elections will be held.

14 presidential candidates will participate in the elections. The number of participants in the parliamentary election is unprecedented as well- 10 parties and 2 alliances, with a total of 359 candidates. By the way, for the first time in the history of Artsakh the presidential and parliamentary elections are held simultaneously, on the very same day, besides, it is for the first time that two female candidates run for the post of the president of the republic – Christine Balayan and Bella Lalayan.

More than 200 representatives of nearly 4 dozen media outlets have been accredited by the Artsakh CEC (Central Electoral Commission) to cover the General elections. 282 polling stations were formed, one of which in the Republic of Armenia.

19 organizations have been accredited only from Artsakh and Armenia for conducting the observation mission: the number of observers is 936.

“Media Advocate” initiative also participates in the elections as an observer. Sergey Chamanyan successfully crossed the border today; relevant inspections were carried out on both checkpoints. The CEC certificate was checked, the participant was registered and the temperature was measured.

We will follow the process of tomorrow’s elections and the violations will be recorded. By the way, yesterday the Artsakh Presidential Candidates held a live debate on Artsakh Public Television. 12 out of 14 candidates participated in the debate. Christine Balayan and Masis Mayilyan were not present. It should be noted that despite numerous calls from Armenia and Artsakh to postpone the elections, considering the danger of the spread of coronavirus in Artsakh, the authorities of Artsakh have decided not to postpone the elections. We wish health to all the people of Artsakh and hope that the elections will take place in a healthy and cooperative atmosphere.