BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 7. A record number of NGO observers are monitoring today's extraordinary presidential election in Azerbaijan, Trend reports.
According to the information about 7,000 observers from 83 NGOs are participating in the election process.
Compared to the last presidential election in Azerbaijan, the number of nationwide NGO observers has increased almost 4 times. Several NGOs are uniting in coalitions to monitor the election.
These include the "My Voice" Election Observation Coalition, "Civil Society Observation Coalition", and "Coalition of Election Observation and Analysis Group". A total of nine NGOs united in these three coalitions joined the process with the participation of about 1,700 observers.
The Azerbaijan National NGO Forum, the International Eurasian Press Foundation, the Organization of Veterans of War, Labor and Armed Forces, the Organization of Student Youth of Azerbaijan, the Public Association of Disabled Persons, Veterans and Families of Martyrs of the Karabakh War, the Union of Volunteer Organizations of Azerbaijan and dozens of other NGOs are observing the election throughout the country.
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 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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