The Russian State Duma and the Federation Council will send observers to the presidential elections in Azerbaijan, the lower chamber of Russian parliament told ITAR-TASS news agency on Thursday.
The State Duma delegation has been formed on the quota inter-factional principles. It will be headed by the chairman of the Russian State Duma's committee on CIS affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Leonid Slutsky (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia), who is also the head of a group of observers of CIS Inter-parliamentary Assembly.
The mission will include MPs from all parliamentary factions. United Russia party will be represented by Oleg Lebedev, Gadzhimet Safaraliyev, Nadejda Shkolkina, Murad Hajiyev, Zaur Gekkiev, Svetlana Maksimova and Svetlana Zhurova; the Communist Party of the Russian Federation - Kazbek Taysayev, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia - Ilya Drozdov, and A Just Russia party - Alla Kuzmina.
The Federation Council delegation will be led by the Council's Deputy Chairman Ilyas Umahanov, the press service of the Federation Council said.
The delegation will also include the First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Science, Education and Information Policy of the Federation Council Victor Lopatnikov, member of the Committee on the Federal Structure, Local Government and Northern Affairs Nikolay Maksyuta.
According to Slutsky, "Russian observers expect that presidential elections in Azerbaijan will be held in accordance with all international democratic norms and standards".
The presidential elections in Azerbaijan will be held on October 9. The previous one was held on October 15, 2008.
Azerbaijan holds presidential elections every five years.