Latest Articles about South Caucasus
OPPOSITION RALLY FAILS TO CHANGE RESULTS OF AZERBAIJAN’S PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
As was expected in the run-up to last Sunday's vote, Azerbaijani opposition parties have refused to recognize the legitimacy of the November 6 parliamentary election results and have taken to the streets in protest. On November 9, three days after the election, the main opposition... MORE
AZERBAIJAN MOVES SWIFTLY TO ADDRESS ELECTORAL FRAUD COMPLAINTS
Azerbaijan's Central Electoral Commission convened on November 8 to begin considering complaints of electoral fraud in the November 6 parliamentary elections. The CEC ordered recounts of the vote in certain electoral districts where pro-government candidates had purportedly won, and requested the Prosecutor-General's Office to check... MORE
OPENING OF THE POLITICAL SYSTEM DEFINES AZERBAIJAN’S IMPERFECT ELECTIONS
Other than the irregularities that marred the New Azerbaijan Party's (YAP) clear-cut overall victory, ultimately the salient fact in these parliamentary elections is the opening up of the political system. Unsurprisingly, Azerbaijan's political system and most players are insufficiently prepared technically, professionally, and (not least)... MORE
LOW TURNOUT IN AZERBAIJAN SUGGESTS DISAPPOINTMENT WITH ELECTORAL PROCESS
On November 6 Azerbaijanis went to the polls to elect 125 new members of the National Parliament. According to the final numbers from the Central Election Commission (CEC), turnout was close to 47% of all registered voters, a number generally confirmed by local and international... MORE
AZERBAIJANI-UKRAINIAN RELATIONS DETERIORATE AFTER STOLEN ELECTIONS
Ukraine has followed the lead of the OSCE in not recognizing the official results of Azerbaijan's November 6 parliamentary elections. A Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman said, "We support the earlier conclusions of the OSCE observer mission on this question and are awaiting the final verdict... MORE
ABKHAZ MILITARY ACCUSED OF FORCIBLY DRAFTING ETHNIC GEORGIANS
Recent developments in Abkhazia, Georgia's breakaway region, do not bode well for the forthcoming Georgian-Abkhaz negotiations scheduled for mid-November in Sukhumi, the capital of Abkhazia. These UN-mediated talks have already been delayed because the sides failed to finalize a draft of a joint Georgian-Abkhaz declaration... MORE
AZERBAIJAN RESPONSIVE TO ELECTION OBSERVERS’ CRITIQUE DESPITE EXAGGERATIONS
Quite predictably (from past experience, and in a novice parliamentary system) many local irregularities were recorded in Azerbaijan's November 6 parliamentary elections. Equally predictably from all opinion surveys, the irregularities could not affect the clear-cut overall victory of President Ilham Aliyev's Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party.... MORE
GULIYEV’S SECOND ATTEMPT TO RETURN TO AZERBAIJAN FAILS
After his first unsuccessful attempt to return to Azerbaijan on October 17, Rasul Guliyev, chairman of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party and former speaker of parliament, announced that he would return between October 31 and November 3 (see EDM, October 19). Such a vague timeline put... MORE
AZERBAIJAN’S MODERATE OPPOSITION ON THE EVE OF ELECTIONS
Azerbaijan's moderate opposition has been relegated to undeserved obscurity in terms of international media coverage and Western policy assessments of the situation in Azerbaijan. The attention has focused on the radicals because of their confrontational tactics and "revolutionary" phraseology. Meanwhile, the moderate opposition's Yeni Siyasat... MORE
GEORGIAN DEFENSE MINISTER FENDS OFF LATEST CHARACTER ATTACK
Scandal-prone Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili is back in the news thanks to the continuing investigation into the Ministry of Defense purchase of allegedly defective armored vehicles from Ukraine in 2004 (see EDM October 14). After the arrest of three senior defense officials on charges... MORE