The race is on for breakaway Nagorno Karabakh's miniature 33-man parliament, but little outside attention is expected for the May 23 vote.
Nor are any surprising twists and turns expected for the results.
The dominant Democracy Party of Artsakh led by de facto parliamentary speaker Ashot Ghulian, calls for boosting Karabakh’s international profile, Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan’s Free Homeland Party runs on a reforms platform, while the nationalist Dashnaktsutiun champions homeland defense and the Communist Party, predictably, calls for the nationalization of strategic industries.
No country has recognized Karabakh's independence, but Azerbaijan, still smarting from the recent Turkish-Armenian rapprochement campaign, nonethless placed on the record that no country should consider the election to be legitimate.
Giorgi Lomsadze is a journalist based in Tbilisi, and author of Tamada Tales.
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