According to preliminary returns, Arkadii Ghukasian was re-elected on 11 August for a second term as president of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic with 89 percent of the vote, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported. His closest challenger, former parliament speaker Artur Tovmasian, polled 7.7 percent, Christian-Democratic Party Chairman Albert Ghazarian 2.1 percent, and Unity movement co-Chairman Grigorii Afanasian 1.3 percent. Voter turnout was 75 percent. No violations of voting procedure or complaints by the defeated candidates have been registered. Casting his ballot in Stepanakert on 11 August, Ghukasian argued that criticism of the poll by Azerbaijan, Russia, the Council of Europe, and others was tantamount to rejecting democracy. Ghukasian reaffirmed his commitment to the Karabakh peace process, but at the same time branded Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev as "a politician on his way out" and said Azerbaijan's "destructive" position hinders such a settlement. (RFE/RL)