Observers welcomed for upcoming parliamentary elections
By Aynur Karimova
Azerbaijan has put in place all the necessary arrangements to host democratic, fair, and transparent parliamentary elections, and has met all of the conditions necessary for observers.
This remark was made by Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov at a meeting with the members of a delegation from the ad hoc Committee on the electoral observation mission of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on September 22.
Mammadyarov said some international organizations will be invited to observe the upcoming elections scheduled for November 1, adding that while ODIHR sends 400 or 500 observers to OSCE member states with a population of over 100 million people, sending of 400 observers for the 125 constituencies to Azerbaijan, which has a population of only 9.5 million, is disproportionate.
"Sending 400 observers to Azerbaijan isn't logical", he noted.
Mammadyarov expressed hope that this issue will be discussed with the participation of the OSCE chairman, and an acceptable and fair method for observation will be reached.
The members of the PACE delegation noted that they held fruitful meetings and became acquainted with the pre-election atmosphere and took the necessary measures to be able to securely observe the elections in November.
On the same day, the delegation was received by Parliamentary Speaker Ogtay Asadov.
Preparations are in full swing for this upcoming significant event in the political life of the country.
The number of persons, which have applied to the CEC to register as candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections, has exceeded 1,000.
Campaigning for the November 1 parliamentary elections will start on October 9 and will end on October 31 at 8:00 a.m., exactly 23 days before voting as required by law. Campaign leaflets will be placed at polling stations until October 2.
The submission of all election documents necessary for the registration of candidates to district election commissions kicked off on September 12 and will last until 18:00 October 2.
According to the schedule, election documents can be submitted by the candidate and his/her authorized representative, or the authorized representative of the political party/bloc of the candidate.
The verification of the authenticity of documentation and decisions regarding candidate eligibility will be made within seven days after receiving the documents at the district election commissions.
Registration for election monitoring should be submitted to the CEC by October 22.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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