BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 7. Secretary General of the CIS IPA Council Dmitry Kobitsky commented on the extraordinary presidential election in Azerbaijan at polling station No. 2 of Sabail district (Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan), Trend reports.
"We have analyzed the legislation of Azerbaijan and it fully complies with all democratic norms, all standards and I can note that today the preparation for the election has been carried out at the highest level. We confirm this by meetings with presidential candidates, and organizers of the election process, including representatives of the Central Election Commission, General Prosecutor's Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Parliament. We will know the results of the election in the evening when all observers have visited a large number of polling stations, we will gather together, and summarize the results and tomorrow we will be able to announce preliminary results at a press conference. But our conclusions will be after the CEC approves the election results," Kobitsky said.
From 08:00 (GMT+4), polling stations will be open for voters, and close at 19:00. The Central Election Commission Secretariat's Information Center will share preliminary updates on the voting process and results at 10:00, 12:00, 15:00, 17:00, and 19:00.
Candidates for the presidency in the upcoming election include incumbent President Ilham Aliyev (New Azerbaijan Party), independent contenders Zahid Oruj and Fuad Aliyev, Razi Nurullayev (National Front Party), Fazil Mustafa (Great Order Party), Elshad Musayev (Great Azerbaijan Party), and Gudrat Gasanguliyev (Whole Azerbaijan Popular Front Party).
The voter roll boasts 6,478,623 people who will cast their votes across 6,537 polling stations throughout the country.
A total of 90,372 observers are registered to monitor the election, with 790 of them representing 72 international organizations from 89 countries.
For the first time in the history of independent Azerbaijan, the upcoming election will span across the entire country, including the lands liberated from Armenian occupation in 2020. In the liberated territories, 26 polling stations have been established.
For Azerbaijani citizens residing abroad, 49 polling stations have been established in the embassies and consulates of 37 countries. This allows over 23,000 expatriates to participate in the voting process from various corners of the globe.
A robust media presence of 190 international entities is dedicated to observing the election, with 216 of their representatives officially registered as international observers.
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