Azerbaijan, Baku, 16 September / Trend corr. I.Alizade / Ogtay Asadov, the Azerbaijani speaker, believes that preparations to the presidential elections are carried out at the highest level.
"The presidential elections will be held at the highest level, in line with the international standards, as well as in democratic and transparent conditions," Asadov said at a meeting with Andreas Herkel, the head of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) observation mission of the presidential elections in Azerbaijan, on 16 September.
The presidential elections will be held in Azerbaijan on 15 October. So far, the CEC has confirmed candidatures of the chairman of the New Azerbaijan Party Ilham Aliyev, the chairman of the Umid Party Igbal Agazade, the chairman of the Great Establishment Party Fazil Gazanfaroglu, the chairman of the Unified Popular Front Party of Azerbaijan Gudrat Hasanguliyev, the chairman of the Muasir Musavat Party Hafiz Hajiyev, the chairman of the Liberal Democrat Party Fuad Aliyev and an independent candidature Gulamhuseyn Alibeyli. The presidential candidatures' propaganda campaign will begin on 17 September and last 28 days.
The PACE observation mission delegation comprised of six people arrived in Azerbaijan on 15 September to get familiarization with the pre-election situation in the country. Members of the mission met with representatives of the international organizations in Azerbaijan, the chairman of the Central Elections Commission (CEC) Mazahir Panahov and the Justice Minister Fikrat Mammadov.
According to Asadov, the parliament has carried out its obligations on preparations for the presidential elections.
"The Parliament injected supplements and changes into the Elections Code and the Law on Freedom of Assembly. The international organizations, the Council of Europe (CE) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) praised these changes," the speaker said.
In his turn, Herkel, the head of the PACE Observation mission, said that they approve the changes and supplements that the parliament injected into the Elections Code and the Law on Freedom of Assembly.
"However, there are problems which are still to be solved and milestones which we disagree," he said.
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