CIS mission: Recent parliamentary elections - important step towards continuing reforms in Azerbaijan

By Trend

The recent parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan were held in accordance with the national legislation, and they were competitive, free and consistent with the principles of holding democratic elections, Viktor Guminsky, head of the CIS observation mission, first deputy chairman of the Executive Committee of the CIS, told Trend.

Guminsky added that the holding of early parliamentary elections was a significant step towards enhancing and continuing reforms in Azerbaijan.

The deputy chairman noted that Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) consistently and smoothly carried out preparation for the elections, and all conditions were created for voters and the commissions.

“The observation mission had full access to information and materials regarding the elections,” said Guminsky. “All polling stations were completely ready for the elections. There were no complaints from citizens. We consider a great number of candidates as a positive element, as people had an alternative for the elections.”

The parliamentary elections were held in Azerbaijan on February 9. Some 1,314 candidates were registered within the early parliamentary elections. The candidacies of 246 people were nominated by 19 political parties, 1,057 were self-nominated, 11 - by initiative groups.

Twenty-one percent accounted for female candidates while 79 percent – male candidates.

As many as 5,426 permanent polling stations operated in 125 constituencies of the country.

Some 883 international observers and 77,790 local observers were monitoring the voting process. Among the local observers, 35,152 were representatives of political parties. International observers represented 58 countries and 59 organizations.