Azerbaijan kicks off Parliamentary elections

Voting for the Azerbaijani parliamentary elections began at 8:00 AM today, with polling stations opening across the country, Azernews reports.

A total of 6,478 polling stations are operating in 125 constituencies, including 54 in the recently liberated territories, where over 42,000 eligible voters are expected to cast their ballots.

The Central Election Commission has made provisions for 6.4 million registered voters, distributing more than 6.5 million ballot papers to polling stations. A total of 990 candidates are competing in this snap parliamentary election, with 305 representing political parties, 684 running independently, and 1 nominated by an initiative group.

To ensure transparency, 598 international observers from 69 countries and 51 international organizations have been accredited, alongside 112,749 local observers. Additionally, webcams have been installed at 1,000 polling stations nationwide, providing live streams on official websites (www.msk.gov.az, www.cec.gov.az, www.infocenter.gov.az).

The Central Election Commission will provide updates on the election throughout the day, with voting set to conclude at 7:00 PM.