Page 9 - Small Stans and Causcasus Outlook 2022

It ended in an outcome more decisive than most could have imagined.
Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party smashed Kocharyan’s bloc by over
30%, routing him with nearly 54% of the vote to Armenia Alliance’s
21%. The only other party to enter parliament was the ‘I Have Honour’
bloc of former president Sargsyan and others. International observers
confirmed the vote as free and fair, and just like that, the country’s
political crisis, seemingly on the verge of boiling over, dissipated quietly
instead. For the first time since the start of the war, a sense of normalcy
returned to the country.

For the rest of 2021 and entering 2022, Armenia’s political scene has
been quiet. This is not to say that Pashinyan has regained his former
popularity: the Armenian public largely voted not for him, but against
Kocharyan, remembering the latter’s harsh and lawless rule. Other
issues, especially the ongoing security threats to the country as
Azerbaijani forces occupy Armenian territory in several areas and
engage in daily shootouts with Armenian forces, remain smoldering. But
the question of Armenia’s government has been resolved peacefully, in
an electoral system that held together despite the immense challenges.
Armenia enters 2022 in a largely calm domestic political situation, with
eyes instead on the unresolved issues of the Karabakh conflict and the
security of the country’s borders themselves.

1.6 Politics - Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan heads into 2022 with partial restoration of its territories after
a 44 day-long war with Armenia which claimed more than 3,000
Azerbaijani lives, both civilian and military. Despite this happening a
year ago, memory is still fresh and everything happening in the country
is under the shadow of this recent military success.

However, there is no prospect for the return of internally displaced
people yet, as hundreds of thousands of people eagerly wait to return
to their former homes. While authorities urge people to wait for the
de-mining process to complete, some refugees were not patient. So far,
seven servicemen and 29 civilians have been killed, while 109
servicemen and 44 civilians were injured. Azerbaijan has tried to speed
up the de-mining process by asking for minefield maps in return for
Armenian detainees in Azerbaijan.

The government of Azerbaijan promised a huge rebuilding process for
notable towns of Karabakh, including Shusha, Aghdam and Zangilan.
This also covers the "Smart Village" pilot project in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd
Agali villages of Zangilan, all located next to each other and next to the

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