Details added (first version posted at 11:28)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 27
By Maksim Tsurkov, Anvar Mammadov – Trend:
The Sept. 26 referendum to amend Azerbaijan’s Constitution is a new guarantee of political stability in Azerbaijan, Vice CEO of the European Strategic Intelligence and Security Center William Racimora, who observed the referendum, said at a press conference in Baku Sept. 27.
He said the constitutional amendments will protect democracy and ensure stability in Azerbaijan.
Racimora believes the changes will prevent any weakening in Azerbaijan’s government and ensure the stability of the country’s institutions.
He added that his observation mission keeps the referendum results in the spotlight, as the protection of political stability in an EU partner country is an important guarantee for the development of international relations.
Racimora noted that the observation mission watched the voting process at 49 polling stations and also observed counting of votes at 5 stations.
The voting took place at a high level and no violations were observed during the counting of votes, he added.
The referendum to make amendments to Azerbaijan’s Constitution kicked off at 08:00 and wrapped up at 19:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) Sept. 26.
As many as 117 international observers – MPs from over 30 countries as well as observers from various international organizations, including the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) – were accredited by Azerbaijan’s CEC to observe the referendum.
The total number of the observers was around 53,000.