STEPANAKERT (RFE/RL)–Voters in Nagorno-Karabakh have made a final choice of heads of administration in 153 towns and villages as a result of elections of local self-government bodies on September 27–officials in Stepanakert announced on Saturday.
Summarizing final results–Nagorno-Karabakh’s Central Election Commission said a run-off voting will take place in 23 other communities next Sunday.
At stake were also seats in local legislative councils. The CEC put the total number of elected legislators at 1195.
The media spotlight has focused on Stepanakert where a former Nagorno-Karabakh interior minister–Karen Babayan–overwhelmingly beat his sole rival–gathering 87 percent of the vote–according to official figures.
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic President Arkady Ghoukassian and Prime Minister Jirair Poghossian visited the Mayor’s Office in Stepanakert Friday to introduce Babayan.
During the presentation–the Karabakh leaders praised outgoing mayor–Youri Ghazarian–for his outstanding performance during his tenure.
Ghoukassian described Babayan’s sweeping victory in the municipal elections as a sign that the citizens relied on him to solve their vital problems. The president expressed hop that Stepanakert would continue to prosper.