CIS observers: No serious violations detected during election campaign in Azerbaijan

By Azernews

By Rasana Gasimova

Election campaign in Azerbaijan is very calm, which is confirmed by the absence of any serious violations of law during the period of the campaign, the CIS observer mission stated in their interim report dedicated to the preparations for the snap parliamentary election to be held on February 9.

“As part of the monitoring of the election campaign, long-term observers from the CIS got acquainted with the work of the district and precinct commissions ... Lower-level election commissions are taking necessary measures to prepare and conduct the elections in accordance with the requirements of the law,” the report said.

The report covers the observation period from January 19 to February 3.

The report, published on the website of the CIS Executive Committee, noted the openness of the work of Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission, collegial discussion of the issues under consideration, holding meetings with the participation of international observers and media representatives.

According to the mission, some 2431 applications for participation in the election campaign were submitted to the district commissions.

“The required documents and signature sheet were handed over by 1774 people. Of these, 98 refused to participate in the election campaign prior to registration, and CEC denied registration to 48 applicants. The decisions of the district commissions of 25 applicants were appealed to the CEC, the complaints were satisfied in 9 cases.

“Of 1,637 registered candidates, 312 withdrew their candidacies. Thus, 1325 candidates apply for 125 deputy seats, which is almost twice as many as in the last parliamentary elections held in 2015. Of these, 246 were nominated by political parties, 11 - by initiative groups of citizens, and 1068 - on their own initiative,” observers said in their report.

CIS observers noted that the participation in the election campaign of so many candidates for a deputy mandate indicates openness of the electoral system, the country's political pluralism and the possibility of real choice for voters.

“The mission will present its final conclusions and assessments on the results of monitoring the election campaign in Azerbaijan in the final document after the elections,” the report concluded.

The pre-election campaign of parliamentary candidates started on January 17.

The decision to hold snap parliamentary elections came after the parliament asked the president to dissolve it and to reschedule early elections during its session held on December 2.

The parliament’s decision to dissolve itself was initiated by the ruling YAP party during the parliament’s session on November 28.

The proposal to dissolve the parliament and call for early elections is aimed at supporting the recent personnel reforms implemented by the Azerbaijani president.