Council of Europe makes assessment on parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan

The November 7 parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan were characterised by a peaceful atmosphere and all opposition parties participated in the political process, the Council of Europe's statement issued today says.

Azerbaijan held the parliamentary elections Nov. 7. The voter turnout hit about 50.14% (roughly 2.48 million voters) in Azerbaijan. The CEC reported that 690 candidates are running for the parliamentary elections.

The observers noted that the Central Election Commission overall administered the technical aspects of the electoral process well. But limitations of media freedom and freedom of assembly, and a deficient candidate registration process, further weakened the opposition and made vibrant political discourse almost impossible.

On the positive side, the Council of Europe stated that the voters had the opportunity to check the centralised voter register and request correction or inclusion, and the CEC conducted a voter education campaign, including in the media.


/Trend/