OSCE mission to monitor parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan

The mission, consisting of two expert groups, will arrive in Baku on Sunday, Sept. 26. A plan of work of the OSCE delegation during the stay in Azerbaijan will be presented at a press conference on Tuesday, ODIHR spokesman Jens Eschenbacher told Trend. Ambassador Audrey Glover, head of ODIHR observation mission, will lead the mission. Previously, she headed an observation mission to the OSCE / ODIHR in the U.S. presidential elections in 2008.

The elections to the Azerbaijani parliament (unicameral parliament) are scheduled for November 7. According to a list submitted to the Central Election Commission, the number of voters constantly living in the country is about 5 million people.

The previous parliamentary elections were held in November 2005. The elections in Azerbaijan are held by the majority system in 125 electoral districts.

Two long-term group of experts of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to monitor the elections will arrive in Azerbaijan. They will carry out the pre-election monitoring and monitoring on the actual day of elections, the press-service said. One group, consisting of 16 people, will be located in the capital, the second one - consisting of 26 people will be placed in Azerbaijani regions.

Numerous observers from the OSCE will attend the elections. They will stay in the country only on election day. According to the ODIHR, roughly 450 short-term observers will attend the elections. The OSCE mission will issue a preliminary report on the day after the elections. The final report will be prepared within two months after the elections.

Earlier, the EU, OSCE and CE missions in Azerbaijan declared their intention to propose joint projects in preparation for the upcoming elections.

These organizations stated in a joint statement that the project aims at supporting the efforts of governments and other organizations of Azerbaijan to improve the electoral process and elections in line with the OSCE, commitments of Azerbaijan to the Council of Europe and other standards for democratic elections.

It was also stated that the assistance will focus on strengthening the political dialogue, potential and independence of the Electoral Commission and other relevant organizations, media support. It will provide independent, impartial and full coverage of the campaign of all the candidates, encourage proper execution of the law on freedom of assembly, promote public interest, including women and youth to participate in the electoral process.


/Trend/