Azeri referendum valid
A total of 71.08 per cent, or 3,478,000 people,
voted in the nationwide referendum on the introduction of
amendments to the Azerbaijan Constitution on Wednesday. These are
the returns revealed by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) as
of polling stations closure time.
The CEC chairman, Mazahir Panahov, has said 87-89 per cent of voters supported the proposed constitutional changes.
Forty-one amendments to the Constitution were put on the referendum, including the removal of restrictions for the election of one and the same person as president for more than two terms.
Exit polls conducted by the ELS Independent Research Center and the Association for the Assistance to Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan suggest that voter turnout was 69.7 per cent. The proposed changes were supported by more than 50 per cent of those polled. The opposition parties, boycotting the referendum, claim that only 15 per cent of voters went to the polls.
The CEC has said it is pleased with the way the voting was conducted.
"If no complaints have been received on the voting day and a high voter turnout registered, we must be pleased with the outcomes," the CEC secretary, Natig Mammadov, told journalists after the voting ended.
He added that no official complaints regarding the referendum had been received at the commission yet. Only six appeals have been sent and they are connected with clarification of the location of polling stations.
The ruling New Azerbaijan Party considers the constitutional referendum as valid, the party's deputy chairman and executive secretary, Ali Ahmadov, said in a news conference.
"The activity of voters in the referendum proves that changes to the national constitution are necessary," he said.
Ahmadov went on to say that the ruling party considers as unfounded the statements by a number of opposition representatives concerning alleged irregularities. "The insignificant number of observers from opposition parties shows that they could not fully cover the way the voting was held," he said.
He said the number of observers from the opposition was so little that it has been established that one and the same person was registered as observer in several polling stations.
The news-releases of the "Movement for Garabagh and the Republic" and the "Republicans", groups where a number of opposition parties are represented, say that certain violations were registered during the voting.
Irregularities included the count of ballot papers in the absence of observers, one person voting on behalf of other family members, people unregistered at a polling station casting their ballot, people voting in several polling stations, issue of ballot papers to people without ID documents, etc.
Observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have said they are pleased with the way the voting was conducted.
"I have observed the voting process in more than 20 polling stations, and I can say that everything went well. I did not observe any irregularities. Voters went to the polls and expressed their will freely. There was nothing to hamper the process of independent voting," Pedro Agramunt, a representative of the Spanish parliament observing the election on behalf of PACE, has told AssA-Irada.
The European MP also expressed regret over the passiveness of opposition parties in what he described as a very important referendum for Azerbaijan. He said it was not good that there were no observers from the opposition at the polling stations he visited. "I think they should have been even more active than the ruling party in this process," he added.
Agramunt said further that it was one of the Azerbaijani people's most important rights to amend the constitution, adding that if people express support for these amendments, no-one has the right to oppose the process. Constitutions are amended in all countries of the world.
More than 47,000 local and 177 international observers followed the referendum and covered by over 20 foreign media.
A total of 41 amendments are to be introduced to 29 articles of the Constitution. They envision adjournment of parliamentary elections in case of military operations, provision of the legislative initiative to 40,000 voters, prohibition on video and audio recording and photographing of a person against his/her will, material provision of ex-presidents of Azerbaijan, and some purely technical changes.
The Azerbaijan Constitution was adopted in 1995 and amended in 2002.
The CEC chairman, Mazahir Panahov, has said 87-89 per cent of voters supported the proposed constitutional changes.
Forty-one amendments to the Constitution were put on the referendum, including the removal of restrictions for the election of one and the same person as president for more than two terms.
Exit polls conducted by the ELS Independent Research Center and the Association for the Assistance to Civil Society Development in Azerbaijan suggest that voter turnout was 69.7 per cent. The proposed changes were supported by more than 50 per cent of those polled. The opposition parties, boycotting the referendum, claim that only 15 per cent of voters went to the polls.
The CEC has said it is pleased with the way the voting was conducted.
"If no complaints have been received on the voting day and a high voter turnout registered, we must be pleased with the outcomes," the CEC secretary, Natig Mammadov, told journalists after the voting ended.
He added that no official complaints regarding the referendum had been received at the commission yet. Only six appeals have been sent and they are connected with clarification of the location of polling stations.
The ruling New Azerbaijan Party considers the constitutional referendum as valid, the party's deputy chairman and executive secretary, Ali Ahmadov, said in a news conference.
"The activity of voters in the referendum proves that changes to the national constitution are necessary," he said.
Ahmadov went on to say that the ruling party considers as unfounded the statements by a number of opposition representatives concerning alleged irregularities. "The insignificant number of observers from opposition parties shows that they could not fully cover the way the voting was held," he said.
He said the number of observers from the opposition was so little that it has been established that one and the same person was registered as observer in several polling stations.
The news-releases of the "Movement for Garabagh and the Republic" and the "Republicans", groups where a number of opposition parties are represented, say that certain violations were registered during the voting.
Irregularities included the count of ballot papers in the absence of observers, one person voting on behalf of other family members, people unregistered at a polling station casting their ballot, people voting in several polling stations, issue of ballot papers to people without ID documents, etc.
Observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) have said they are pleased with the way the voting was conducted.
"I have observed the voting process in more than 20 polling stations, and I can say that everything went well. I did not observe any irregularities. Voters went to the polls and expressed their will freely. There was nothing to hamper the process of independent voting," Pedro Agramunt, a representative of the Spanish parliament observing the election on behalf of PACE, has told AssA-Irada.
The European MP also expressed regret over the passiveness of opposition parties in what he described as a very important referendum for Azerbaijan. He said it was not good that there were no observers from the opposition at the polling stations he visited. "I think they should have been even more active than the ruling party in this process," he added.
Agramunt said further that it was one of the Azerbaijani people's most important rights to amend the constitution, adding that if people express support for these amendments, no-one has the right to oppose the process. Constitutions are amended in all countries of the world.
More than 47,000 local and 177 international observers followed the referendum and covered by over 20 foreign media.
A total of 41 amendments are to be introduced to 29 articles of the Constitution. They envision adjournment of parliamentary elections in case of military operations, provision of the legislative initiative to 40,000 voters, prohibition on video and audio recording and photographing of a person against his/her will, material provision of ex-presidents of Azerbaijan, and some purely technical changes.
The Azerbaijan Constitution was adopted in 1995 and amended in 2002.
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