European observers hail constitutional referendum in Azerbaijan
By Gunay Hasanova
The September 26 referendum on amendments to the Constitution of Azerbaijan was rated very highly by international observers.
The people of Azerbaijan have voted overwhelmingly for the amendments to the country’s Constitution, an article on EU Reporter said, citing a free observer from Belgium Tony Mallet, who observed the vote process in Baku.
European People’s Party (EPP) vice-president Mario David said that as an experienced election observer, he can testify that their observation of the opening of the ballots and referendum procedures were according to the international standards.
In total, he said, there were 117 international observers from 18 international organizations, including PACE (the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe).
There were no military or police present in the polling stations, he added.
Twenty-nine different votes on constitutional amendments give more room for maneuver, said Emmanouil Kefalogiannis, an EPP member and a Greek member of the European Parliament.
“Azerbaijanis are changing their system to adjust it to Western standards and I find the referendum democratic,” he noted.
An Azerbaijani voter Nefir Mammadov told EU Reporter after casting his votes in central Baku that it was a transparent procedure.
“We received the information with regards to the proposed changes one month in advance. I thought it gave me the flexibility and I had the freedom to answer ‘no’ to some of the questions,” he said.
“I think the referendum was totally free and in line with international standards,” added Mammadov.
Earlier, Luke Simpkins, a member of the Australian Parliament and observation mission also said that the referendum was conducted in accordance with the legislation, adding that the mission hadn’t observed any cases of violation of law during the referendum.
The voter turnout throughout the country stood at 69.7 percent or 3,671,707 people.
As many as 117 international observers – MPs from around 35 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) – had been accredited by Azerbaijan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) to observe the referendum.
PACE mission consisting of seven people will present its final report regarding the observation of the referendum within one or two months.
Final results of the nationwide vote will be announced until October 21.
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