Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Azerbaijan has created a system allowing anyone to observe the voting process at ongoing elections, Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov said on September 27.

Abbasov was speaking to journalists during a visit to the web camera control center set up at the Central Election Commission (CEC).

According to the minister, thanks to the cameras installed at polling stations, it is possible to monitor activity during the voting.

"I think that the importance attached by the CEC to information and communication technologies with regard to the upcoming presidential election has a goal to increase the transparency of the electoral process," Abbasov said.

"Sometimes observers express their opinions about the transparency of the elections. Installation of these cameras will help to resolve them. The installation of web cameras at 1,000 polling stations, the creation of special networks and transmission of information to the population in real-time via the internet lead to an increase of the transparency of the electoral process," he said.

The minister said further that this year the connection with the system of the observation of elections will be provided through the e-government portal.

During a visit to the web camera technical control center, Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Iltimas Mammadov said that the ministry has instructed its departments to provide smooth communication services during the presidential election in Azerbaijan, which is scheduled for October 9.

According to him, due to the upcoming presidential elections structural departments of the ministry will work under an intensive schedule on October 1-13.

"Currently all necessary security measures are taken to provide stable work of the communication system, fiber-optic lines and other facilities. On October 9, all postal departments and communication enterprises will work until the completion of the voting process," the deputy minister said.

In case of emergencies, it will be possible to obtain the required information from the ministry's departments.

Mammadov said it will be possible to observe the election process online thanks to the web cameras launched in the polling stations. Also, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies jointly with the Special State Security Service is taking due security measures for efficient protection of the CEC's official website.

Every Internet user can directly observe the voting process by entering the website.

Mammadov also said that whereas in 1998 information on the polling stations was delivered via transport, in 2005 web cameras were installed in 500 polling stations and in 2008 some 5,274 polling stations were provided with telephone connection.

All polling stations of the 125 constituencies are connected to the Internet. In the future the number of web cameras will be increased. Also, a communication link with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic has been created via a satellite through Turkey and Iran, he added.