Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

Azerbaijan, the largest South Caucasus state on the Caspian shore, is electing today its president for a five-year term through general, direct and equal elections, by free, private and secret voting.

The country concluded pre-election campaigning for the elections on October 8 at 08:00 local time.

The registered candidates, their authorized representatives, registered representatives of political parties, blocs of political parties and their authorized representatives started campaigning on September 16, which lasted 23 days and ended 24 hours before election day.

This year ten candidates will compete for the top job, including chairman of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, incumbent President Ilham Aliyev, Umid Party leader Igbal Aghazade, self-nominated candidate Zahid Oruj, chairman of the United Popular Front Party Gudrat Hasanguliyev, Modern Musavat party leader Hafiz Hajiyev, Azerbaijan Social Democratic Party chairman Araz Alizade, National Revival Party leader Faraj Guliyev, chairman of the Adalat (Justice) party Ilyas Ismayilov, Jamil Hasanli from the opposition National Council as well as chairman of the Azerbaijan Democratic Party Sardar Jalaloghlu.

The Central Election Commission (CEC) is taking a number of important steps to improve the election system and to ensure the conduct of democratic, transparent, free and fair elections in Azerbaijan. It has installed web cameras in 1,000 polling stations across the country.

Azerbaijan does not impose any restrictions to follow the voting process through web cameras. All citizens will be able to follow the voting process online by accessing the following websites: cec.gov.az; infocenter.gov.az; e-gov.az. It will also be possible to follow the voting process via smartphone mobile devices.

CEC Chairman Mazahir Panahov has called on all Azerbaijani citizens with voting rights to participate in the election.

Azerbaijan has provided all the suitable conditions for the voting of Azerbaijanis who live abroad. Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev said on October 7 that 12,000 voters will cast their ballots in 38 polling stations created under the Azerbaijani embassies abroad.

According to Abdullayev, the bulletins, protocols and other materials have already been delivered to the polling stations abroad. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry keeps the election issue in focus and has provided the embassies with relevant instructions.

Members of the diplomatic missions accredited abroad have been mobilized to enforce the voting rights of their fellow citizens in the presidential elections, Abdullayev said.

He also said that the largest number of Azerbaijani voters temporarily living abroad falls to the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Mehman Sadikhov, the head of Public Relations Department of the Justice Ministry's Penitentiary Service, said 26 polling stations had been established in all bodies of the Penitentiary Service.

Azerbaijan State Caspian Shipping Company spokesman Vugar Sadikhov said that the company has created all the necessary conditions for ensuring the voting process aboard the ships which will be at sea on election day.

The state energy company SOCAR as well as British energy giant BP will also provide all the necessary conditions for the voting of workers who will be at sea on this day.

As for the monitoring of the presidential elections, the poll will be observed by a CIS short-term observation mission headed by the organization's Executive Secretary Sergey Lebedev, a mission of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), a delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), a GUAM mission headed by Secretary General Valeri Chechelashvili, a delegation of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) as well as a TurkPA international observer mission.

Anna Churdova, a member of the observation mission from the Czech Republic, said on October 8 that the preparations for voting in the polling stations meet all requirements. According to her, the observers visited a number of polling stations and all conditions have been created for the voting.

Arturas Mankavichius, an international observer of the Central European political monitoring group from Lithuania, said that the provisions of Azerbaijan's Electoral Code meet international standards.

"The transparency of the election will be ensured if the provisions of the Electoral Code are taken as a basis on voting day and in the counting of ballots," Mankavichius said.

He believes that the presidential elections in Azerbaijan will be held at a high level.