BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 11
By Ilhama Isabalayeva - Trend:
Anti-Azerbaijani forces were expecting a statement casting doubt on the results of the elections to the Azerbaijani Parliament from the international election observation mission, consisting of representatives of the OSCE/ODIHR, OSCE PA and PACE, but were very disappointed because this did not happen, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Center for Social Research, political analyst Elshad Mirbashiroglu told Trend.
According to him, a number of minor organizational flaws were noted in the current assessment of the observation mission that could not affect the election results.
Having said that in some European countries, one can witness more significant problems in the election process, Elshad Mirbashiroglu concluded that the elections in Azerbaijan were absolutely transparent and democratic.
"This was noticeable at all stages of the election process. All candidates were given equal opportunities to conduct their campaigns on equal terms," the analyst added.
Mirbashiroglu believes that during the period of pre-election campaigning, candidates from the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) were more remembered for their effective activities. Their serious advantage was observed both on social media and in communication with voters, which was reflected in the election results.
Mirbashiroglu reminded that dozens of foreign observation missions arrived to observe the elections, including officials and representatives of the public from various countries, as well as representatives of organizations such as the CIS, GUAM, OIC, the Turkic Council and others.
"If you look at the conclusions of these countries and organizations on the election results, you can see that only positive aspects are reflected. They unequivocally emphasized that the elections in Azerbaijan fully met European standards. But there were subjective conclusions that were not based on the reality of the electoral process. I don't exclude that certain opinions of external destructive groups trying to put pressure on Azerbaijan, played a role in these conclusions," the analyst said.
Mirbashiroglu said that the Azerbaijani Government is ready for constructive cooperation with any international organization.
"Azerbaijan does not intend to ruin cooperation with Europe due to subjective considerations of a group of radicals. First of all, it should be borne in mind that Azerbaijan has become one of the important players in European geopolitics. The importance of Azerbaijan for Europe is growing every day. Azerbaijan is the guarantor of security and development in the region. Therefore, I believe that the negative cases in connection with the electoral process, which the radical forces claim about, will not affect the nature of our relations with Europe," the analyst added.