PA Mission of Turkic-speaking states to observe referendum in Azerbaijan
By Gunay Hasanova
The Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic Speaking States will send an observation mission to the referendum on amendments and annexes to Azerbaijan's Constitution.
The mission will visit Azerbaijan by the invitation of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) of the country.
The mission will include parliamentarians from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey, as well as representatives of the secretariat of the organization.
The mission plans to conduct surveillance in several areas on the day of universal suffrage.
September 26, 2016, was set as the date for the referendum on proposed changes to the constitution of Azerbaijan.
In a bill recently sent to the Constitutional Court, President Ilham Aliyev proposed amendments to 29 Articles of Azerbaijan’s current constitution. The changes envisage the extension of the presidential term from five to seven years, the establishment of the first vice-president and vice-president positions in the country as well as the cancellation of minimum age limit for presidential candidates, dissolution of parliament by the president.
So far, the Chairman of Central Election Commission (CEC) has accredited 117 international observers until now to monitor the referendum on 26 September.
The head of the CEC said that they are the members of parliament and representatives of about 35 countries, including the PACE and other international organizations.
The Electoral Code of Azerbaijan indicates that the day of the popular vote should be non-working.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) has so far registered 846 observers for the upcoming referendum. The district polling stations have registered 37,429 observers.
Final results of the Referendum will be announced until October 21.
The last time changes to the Constitution were made seven years ago, following Constitutional referendum held in 2009.
---
Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz