Observation mission: OSCE expects democratic elections in Azerbaijan

The OSCE expects democratic parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan which will demonstrate that the country is moving forward to realize international commitments to develop a democratic society, Ambassador Audrey Glover, head of the observer mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), said at the press conference in Baku today.

The OSCE Mission arrived in Azerbaijan at the invitation of the Foreign Ministry. The mission officially began its work today.

Two groups of experts representing 11 OSCE countries will operate in Azerbaijan. One group with 16 people will be stationed in the capital. The other group consisting of 22 people will arrive on Thursday. After a brief introduction to the course of the case, it will cover Azerbaijani regions.

A short-term mission will arrive on November 3. "We expect more than 400 short-term observers to arirve," Glover said.

Parliamentary elections are scheduled for Nov. 7. Previous legislative elections were held in November 2005. Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan are held by the majority system in 125 electoral constituencies.

"We will pay particular attention to the equal representation and participation of all political parties and blocs in the electoral process during the monitoring mission," the OSCE mission head said.

The mission intends to pay special attention to the coverage of the elections by the media.

"The fact that the Azerbaijani authorities took into account the ODIHR's recommendations in the previous elections are of great importance for us, especially after the 2008 elections," Glover said.

Preliminary reports of the mission will be published on the day after the elections. The Mission also plans to hold a press conference on the preliminary estimates. The final report will be published eight weeks after the elections.


/Trend/