Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijan’s top court on Friday extended deliberations on the November 7 parliamentary elections. Final approval of election tallies has been postponed until Monday, the Constitutional Court chairman Farhad Abdullayev said.

Judge Rafael Gvaladze, speaking about claims on irregularities filed to the Prosecutor-General’s Office, said a criminal case has been started over an appeal regarding election tallies on the Goychay-Agdash constituency. According to Gvaladze, the candidate who ran for the parliamentary poll in this constituency is said to have interfered with voting on election day, violating electoral legislation.

Mazahir Panahov, the Central Election Commission (CEC) chairman, said all incoming election-related appeals have been thoroughly studied, adding that the claims on government agencies’ meddling in the electoral process were baseless.

The CEC rendered as null and void the election results in 46 polling stations before submitting election tallies to the Constitutional Court for final approval.

The ruling Yeni (New) Azerbaijan Party (YAP), chaired by President Ilham Aliyev, gained a 72-seat majority in the 125-member legislature. 12 candidates representing 10 other parties were elected to the Milli Majlis as well. Independent candidates claimed the remaining 41 seats.

690 candidates stood in the parliamentary elections. Parliament members were elected for a five-year term under the majority of votes.

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) said Azerbaijan’s elections were conducted technically well, but "the conditions necessary for a meaningful democratic election were not established."

Azerbaijan’s major opposition parties that failed to win seats in parliament said they do not recognize the election outcomes and demanded a re-run of the vote.