Newly-elected Azerbaijani parliament holds first session - UPDATE
By Aynur Karimova
The new-elect Azerbaijani Parliament of the fifth convocation held its first meeting on November 24.
President Ilham Aliyev attended the first sitting, which re-elected Ogtay Asadov the chairman of the parliament. Ziyafat Asgarov was elected the first deputy speaker, and Bahar Muradova and Valeh Alasgarov - deputy speakers of the parliament.
The head of state addressed the session.
Chairmen of the committees of the Parliament were elected as well.
MP Ali Huseynli was approved as chairman of the committee on legal policy and state building, Ziyafet Asgarov as chairman of the committee on defense, security and fight against corruption, Ziyad Samadzade as chairman of the committee on economic policy, industry and entrepreneurship, Valeh Alasgarov as chairman of the committee on natural resources, energy and environment, Eldar Ibrahimov as chairman of the committee on agrarian policy, Hadi Rajabli as chairman of the committee on labor and social policy, Arif Rahimzade as chairman of the committee on regional issues, Isa Habibbayli as chairman of the committee on science and education, Rafael Huseynov as chairman of the committee on culture, Bahar Muradova as chairperson of the committee on human rights, Samad Seyidov as chairman of the committee on international relations and interparliamentary ties.
The parliament established four new committees on healthcare, on family, women and children affairs, on public associations and religious organizations, and on youth and sports.
Ahliman Amiraslanov was approved as chairman of the newly-established committee on healthcare, Agiya Nakhchivanli as chairperson of the newly-established committee on family, women and children affairs, Siyavush Novruzov as chairman of the newly-established committee on public associations and religious organizations, and Fuad Muradov as chairman of the newly-established committee on youth and sports.
The Constitutional Court of Azerbaijan approved the results of the November 1 parliamentary election on November 24.
Addressing the session of the Plenum of the Constitutional Court, Mazahir Panahov, the Chairman of the Central Election Commission, said the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan were transparent and democratic, and no complaint has been reported by local and international observers.
He noted that the nomination and registration of candidates was carried out in accordance with the Electoral Code, adding that 767 candidates took part in the election.
The Central Election Commission took all measures to hold transparent and democratic election, he added.
The Parliament of the fifth convocation includes representatives of 10 political parties. These are 69 members of the New Azerbaijan Party, two members of the Civil Unity Party, while 8 political parties won one parliamentary seat each. The rest 44 people received mandates as independent MPs.
The voter turnout in the parliamentary election was 55.7 percent. Over 2.89 million voters participated in the election, which is 6 percent more than in the previous elections.
"Parliament 2015" reports
Preparations for voting at the parliamentary elections held on November 1 in Azerbaijan, the voting process, counting and protocoling of votes were conducted transparently and without violating the law.
This is stated in the final report of the "Parliament-2015" election monitoring coalition established to monitor the parliamentary elections in the country.
The report said that during the collection of signatures by the candidates, there were no serious violations.
No cases of use of administrative resources, illegal interference, special instructions or orders for the collection of signatures in favor of a particular candidate were observed.
The discontent that emerged during the collection of signatures and their verification at the district election commissions was soon solved in accordance with law.
Information about all candidates was posted on the website of the Central Election Commission of Azerbaijan and was updated periodically in order to ensure transparency of the process of registration of candidates.
Complaints were considered objectively and timely at the CEC and the country’s courts. In some cases, the decisions taken by the district election commissions were annulled and the rights of candidates were restored.
All conditions were created for candidates for holding meetings with voters and conducting the election campaign. Also, 128 public and 128 private places were created at the 117 election constituencies for efficient organization of campaigning, according to the report.
The MP candidates also enjoyed good opportunities for meeting with the voters. The country's media outlets also had good opportunities for covering the election process. Some 23 agencies, 19 newspapers and three TV and radio channels appealed to the CEC in connection with the election campaign.
The election monitoring coalition also added that the work of all district election commissions and the polling stations, were monitored in accordance with laws of Azerbaijan.
The district election commissions were equipped with all necessary appliances and equipment and were located in new and renovated buildings.
The "Parliament-2015" election monitoring coalition monitored the election process in 1,361 polling stations at 118 election constituencies.
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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova
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