Observers appraise democratic conditions created for parliamentary elections

/By AzerNews/

By Aynur Karimova

The election observation missions monitoring the November 1 parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan express satisfaction with the democratic conditions and transparency created in the country.

Franz Obermayr believes that the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan were held under democratic conditions.

“The voting process was very transparent, no law violations were observed during the voting process,” the member of the European Parliament from Austria said at a press conference on November 2.

Noting that he observed the elections in Azerbaijan for the first time, Obermayr added that he had met with constituency chairmen, heads of political parties and observers.

He hailed the use of invisible ink in the election process as “a major innovation” he has observed so far.

Thierry Mariani, the head of the European People's Party group, also told journalists that no cases of interference of local bodies and police with the voting process have been detected at the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan.

He said that the monitoring group has come to the conclusion that the parliamentary elections fully complied with international and democratic standards.

Lord David Evans, a member of British Parliament's House of Lords told secki-2015.az Media Center that Azerbaijan has ensured transparent parliamentary elections.

“The parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan were very transparent,” he said. “I would also like to note that high security was provided at the polling stations.”

In turn, the member of the British Parliament's House of Lords Baroness Detta O'Cathain mentioned the high level of organization of the election.

O'Cathain said that she was particularly pleased with women’s turnout in the election - both female voters and members of election commissions.

“The difference of Azerbaijan from the UK lies in the fact that here the people value their opportunity of freedom of choice,” she said. “In London, people, on the contrary, don’t want to go to the polls. Some of them forget that a hundred years ago, some women even sacrificed their lives in order to achieve the right for women to vote. In Azerbaijan, citizens show greater interest in the election.”

She also mentioned the absence of any pressure on citizens in the electoral process.

“Yesterday I visited six polling stations,” O'Cathain said. “I would like to emphasize the identification process, which prevents the re-voting. This is a very positive point.”

The Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan announced the results of the voting at the Azerbaijani parliamentary election on November 2.

The election was declared valid at all the polling stations, and the voter turnout at the election was 55.7 percent. Over 2.89 million voters cast their ballots during the election, which is six percent more than in the previous election.