Azernews.Az

By Aynur Karimova

Azerbaijan's Interior Ministry will take necessary measures to ensure the security of all voters, international and local observers on the day of election, and their safety will be ensured at the highest level.

This was noted by the representative of the ministry, Police Colonel Ehsan Zahidov on October 30.

He told the secki-2015.az media center that only police officers in uniforms may enter polling stations.

"They should leave the polling stations after they will completely control the public order," he added.

Zahidov also noted that the main task of the bodies of interior affairs is to control public order, to prevent pressure on voters, and illegal acts. Police officers will also ensure the safety of the delivery of ballots to the polling stations and after the voting - to the Central Election Commission.

"On the election day, the Interior Ministry will be a guarantor of security and stability in Azerbaijan," he added.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies has instructed its structural units to ensure uninterrupted operation of communication services, Internet, television, radio and postal services during the elections.

Adviser to the minister Mushfig Amirov told Trend that telecommunication nodes of operators will be switched to active mode to ensure uninterrupted operation of communication networks.

All structural units of the ministry are instructed to suspend land and construction-installation works, to strengthen the security service, to alert regional emergency crews to promptly resolve potential problems.

Webcams were installed in 1,000 polling stations in the regions of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with an aim to provide transparency to the electoral process.

A three-tier protection system would be used to ensure the smooth operation of mass media outlets, in particular TV channels that will cover the election and the voting process.

An optical link will be used to transmit video to observers on Election Day. The voting process will be streamed online, and it will give voters an opportunity to monitor the results coming from polling stations.

Polling stations will also be provided with reliable telephone and Internet access.

The Health Ministry also told Trend that the first-aid stations will work in emergency mode on the election day. Medical teams are created for rapid departure during the election.

The country will hold elections to the supreme legislative body on November 1. Some 5.2 million Azerbaijani citizens, who enjoy the right to vote, will come to polling stations to express their constitutional right to elect their representatives to the parliament.

The time allotted for candidates to conduct their campaigns ended today at 08:00 a.m. Thus, October 31 is Silence Day before the Election Day.

This year, 769 candidates - the representatives of 15 political parties and one bloc of parties, which represents seven parties, will compete for seats in Azerbaijan's Parliament.

Voting preparations will begin at 7:30 a.m. on November 1 in polling stations in Azerbaijan in accordance with the timetable.

Chairmen of the electoral commissions will declare polling stations open and the ballot boxes will be sealed at 7:50 a.m.

They will also announce the commencement of voting at 08:00 a.m. and the completion of the voting process at 7:00 p.m.

Information on the progress and results of the voting will be provided by the Information Center of the Secretariat of the CEC during the day at 10.00 a.m., 12.00 a.m., 3.00 p.m., 5.00 p.m. and 7.00 p.m.

The CEC has established 5,415 permanent and 132 temporary polling stations.

International organizations and foreign media are showing significant interest in the upcoming elections. The parliamentary elections to be held on November 1 will be monitored by 66,000 observers.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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