About 1,000 candidates to compete for seat in Parliament
By Aynur Karimova
About 1,000 out of 1,246 registered candidates will participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for November 1 in Azerbaijan.
Mazahir Panahov, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan, said on October 14 that during the printing of the ballot papers, the CEC will omit the names of persons who withdrew their candidacies, as it may mislead voters.
“In this regard, we gave the appropriate instructions to precinct and district election commissions,” Panahov noted.
Preparations for the upcoming elections are in full swing. Campaigning kicked off on October 9 and will last until 8:00 a.m. October 31, exactly 23 days before voting as required by law.
In accordance with the schedule approved by the CEC, campaigning can be carried out by registered candidates, their authorized representatives and agents, political parties or political party blocs, and their authorized representatives and agents.
This year about 8 candidates will compete for one seat in the 125-seat Azerbaijani Parliament, the supreme legislative body of the country.
As of October 13, the number of persons who were registered as observers in the districts has exceeded 22,606. In addition, 138 observers were registered from 20 countries.
The printing house of the Azerbaijani Parliament has already begun printing ballot papers for the upcoming election, the chairman announced later.
Some 5,344,431 ballot papers will be printed for 125 election constituencies, he added.
The ballot papers will first be delivered to the election commissions of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, and then to the election constituencies of the mountainous areas of Azerbaijan. Sumgayit, Absheron and Baku will be the last points for distribution.
In accordance with the Electoral Code of Azerbaijan, the process of printing ballot papers will be completed 10 days before the voting day.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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