By Sona Gevorgian

YEREVAN, July 19 — The fifth presidential elections kicked off on Thursday at 8 a.m. in the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. The polling stations will close at 8 p.m. after which the ballot count will begin.

There are three candidates running for elections, including incumbent Bako Sahakyan, Arkadi Soghomonyan, Deputy Director of Academic Activities at the State Agrarian University and NKR National Assembly MP Vitali Balasanyan.

The European Union reiterated it wouldn`t recognize the presidential elections as legal. According to the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy Catherine Ashton the European Union “does not recognize the constitutional and legal framework in which they will be held.”

“These ‘elections’ should not prejudice the determination of the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh in the negotiated general framework of the peaceful settlement of the conflict.”

Ashton recalled the EU’s firm support to the OSCE Minsk Group, and in particular to the sustained efforts of its co-chairs, aimed at a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

“I call on the parties to step up their efforts to find a negotiated solution to the conflict on the basis of the Madrid principles, which would allow progress beyond the status quo. I reiterate the EU’s readiness to provide further support to efforts in this direction”, she said.

Yerevan Report