BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 7. Compared to presidential election in other countries, Azerbaijan has very high voter activity, a member of the group of international observers from the CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, chairman of the Committee of Tajikistan Parliament on ensuring constitutional foundations, human rights, and freedoms, citizens, and legality Dilshod Rakhmon told Trend.
"During the two days preceding the election, we met with the leadership of the bodies directly involved in organizing the election, the leadership of the Constitutional Court, the Central Election Commission, and the parties whose candidates are taking part in the presidential election. Since the opening from 8 a.m. we have visited several polling stations, and compared to the presidential election in other countries (this is the 8th time I have taken part in such election as an international observer) the process in Azerbaijan is very active, and voters are standing in line. At first, it seemed to me that election in Azerbaijan is a duty, as in some European countries, but here everything speaks of high legal culture and education of the population, civil responsibility, as everyone takes part in the political life of the state. Especially I would like to note a large number of young people in the electoral process. There are no violations in the electoral process," he emphasized.
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 17:00 and 19:00 Baku time.
The crucial cutoff for candidate registration came on January 9, with seven contenders now in the race for the presidential seat.
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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