Russian official: Preparatory work for Azerbaijani elections 'highly professional'

The voter turnout during the Azerbaijani parliamentary elections on Nov.7 was as "high" as the level of professionalism of the electoral process, Russian Federal Assembly Federation Council Deputy Speaker Svetlana Orlova said at a press conference today in Baku. Orlova coordinated a CIS Interparliamentary Assembly election observer group.

"We have visited 114 polling stations and the level of professionalism of the electoral process was very high," she said. "The election commissions worked actively, and the exit poll was also a strong factor in the elections."

Orlova said even the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has noted the top working conditions of the polling station technical equipment.

"The elections, which were held on the majority system, are already a sign of democracy," she said. "The elections were held and the people expressed their will."

Azerbaijan held parliamentary elections on Nov. 7. The voter turnout was 50.14% (roughly 2.48 million voters), the Azerbaijani Central Election Commission's (CEC) Elections Information Center told Trend.

The CEC reported that 690 candidates ran in the elections. Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan are held by the majority system in 125 constituencies. Previous parliamentary elections were held in November 2005.


/Trend/