Azernews.Az

US assistance to the conduct of elections in Azerbaijan is being scrutinized for its compliance with the country's legislation, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Khazar Ibrahim told a news conference Monday that the issue would be approached based on past experience. "If the allocations are within the frames of the law, as before, we see no problem here."
The U.S. will spend over $3 million to support Azerbaijan's efforts to conduct a free presidential election in October. The assistance will include the development of political parties, the strengthening of electoral systems, election observation and efforts to strengthen the complaints and appeals process.
The President's Office Chief-of-Staff Ramiz Mehdiyev said earlier that the allocation of funds for the elections by the United States represented meddling with Azerbaijan's affairs. The US embassy spokesman Johnatan Henick followed up by saying that the programs of the US embassy in Azerbaijan could not be construed as interference, as most of them are implemented in cooperation with the Azerbaijani government. He said US election programs were transparent and fully supported the implementation of international commitments by Azerbaijan.
Ibrahim noted that the sides had expressed their positions on the matter during the US-Azerbaijani dialog on democracy held in Baku last week. The Azerbaijani government pledged to continue democratic reforms and to hold the presidential poll to the highest standards.
The dialog will be continued this fall.