Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijan's parliamentary elections were held in line with the country’s laws, the CIS mission concluded after observing Sunday’s vote.

Head of the 352-people-strong election observation mission, Sergei Lebedev, told a news conference Monday that representatives of eight CIS countries observed the polling in about 3,000 ballot stations and enjoyed all conditions necessary to conduct their observations.

Lebedev noted that technical shortfalls were reported in several polling stations. For instance, at times voter lists lacked the names of the voters and, in some ballot stations, chairs designated for observers were put far away. Overall, the CIS observation mission witnessed no signs of major shortfalls, Lebedev said.

The ruling Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party (YAP), chaired by President Ilham Aliyev, has gained a majority in the legislature, according to preliminary tallies.

690 candidates, including 111 YAP nominees, contested 125 seats in the Milli Majlis (parliament).

Parliament members were elected for a five-year term under the majority of votes. Just over 50 percent of the 4.95 million eligible voters took part in Sunday's election.