Election monitoring coalition issues report on election in Azerbaijan
By Aynur Karimova
Preparations for voting at the parliamentary elections held on November 1 in Azerbaijan, the voting process, counting and protocoling of votes were conducted transparently and without violating the law.
This is stated in the final report of the "Parliament-2015" election monitoring coalition established to monitor the parliamentary elections in the country.
The report said that during the collection of signatures by the candidates, there were no serious violations.
No cases of use of administrative resources, illegal interference, special instructions or orders for the collection of signatures in favor of a particular candidate were observed.
The discontent that emerged during the collection of signatures and their verification at the district election commissions was soon solved in accordance with law.
Information about all candidates was posted on the website of the Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan and was updated periodically in order to ensure transparency of the process of registration of candidates.
Complaints were considered objectively and timely at the CEC and the country’s courts. In some cases, the decisions taken by the district election commissions were annulled and the rights of candidates were restored.
The report also noted that absolutely democratic conditions were created for political parties in the pre-election period in Baku and regions, and observations indicate that during this period there were no restrictions on assembly and free operation of political parties in Baku and regions.
All conditions were created for candidates for holding meetings with voters and conducting the election campaign. Also, 128 public and 128 private places were created at the 117 election constituencies for efficient organization of campaigning, according to the report.
The MP candidates also enjoyed good opportunities for meeting with the voters. The country's media outlets also had good opportunities for covering the election process. Some 23 agencies, 19 newspapers and three TV and radio channels appealed to the CEC in connection with the election campaign.
The election monitoring coalition also added that the work of all district election commissions and the polling stations, which were monitored, was organized in accordance with laws of Azerbaijan.
The district election commissions were equipped with all necessary appliances and equipment and were located in new and renovated buildings.
On the Election Day, the electors voted freely. There were no obstacles in monitoring the election process.
The "Parliament-2015" election monitoring coalition monitored the election process in 1,361 polling stations at 118 election constituencies.
The election for the 5th convocation of the Azerbaijani Parliament was held on November 1.
This year, 767 candidates struggled for seats in the supreme legislative body. Some 27 of the winning candidates are new, while the remaining 98 members were re-elected to the parliament.
The CEC announced the results of the voting at the Azerbaijani parliamentary election on November 2.
The voter turnout at the election was high enough, reaching 55.7 percent. Over 2.89 million voters cast their ballots during the election, which is 6 percent more than in the previous election.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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