BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 7. The election process in Azerbaijan complies with legislative norms, Russian political scientist, deputy director of the Russian Institute for Political Studies, and member of the Russian observer organization Civil Dialogue, Daria Grevtsova, told Trend.
"We see how well coordinated both the election commission and observers work, how freely people come to the election. We were told that citizens came to vote in the morning, as soon as the polling stations opened, this demonstrates the interest of voters, they realize how important it is, and they understand their civic responsibility," a Russian political scientist said.
According to Daria Grevtsova, at polling stations, she sees a large number of local observers who are monitoring the process.
"The most important thing now is for citizens to express their will and vote," she added.
To note, voting in the presidential election is going on in Azerbaijan.
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).
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 15:00, 17:00, and 19:00 Baku time.
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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