Two pro-Pashinyan candidates were the first-round leaders for de facto president. Observers noted widespread violations, however, and many argued the vote shouldn’t even have happened given the coronavirus outbreak.
There are worries that election observers from Armenia – which has been relatively hard-hit by the COVID-19 outbreak – could bring the virus into Karabakh.
The vote went ahead in spite of the global coronavirus outbreak; although Abkhazia hasn’t recorded any cases, election officials took pains that the disease couldn’t be spread by voting.
The region is tightening belts and preparing for pain. But there are reasons to hope the trickledown from Russia won’t be as bad as last time, in 2014.
Hair-raising accounts of Turkmen healthcare, billions spent on the private sector, and a plan for ex-presidents. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan bulletin.
The hidden impact of coronavirus, a new secret police chief, and reading the government’s imagined data to understand its priorities and mindset. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.