BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 1. The IPA CIS highly appreciated the organization of the parliamentary election in Azerbaijan, Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council Dmitriy Kobitskiy told Trend.
“The Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States has sent a group of 40 observers to monitor the election in Azerbaijan. Of these, 33 experts are working directly on the ground, covering not only Baku but also other regions of the country. Since early morning, our representatives have been touring polling stations from the moment they opened. We highly commend the organization of the election; all activities are being conducted at a very high level,” he said.
Kobitskiy added that before arriving in Azerbaijan, their experts thoroughly reviewed the country’s electoral legislation.
“Based on our analysis, we have concluded that Azerbaijani legislation fully complies with democratic standards, including the Convention of Standards for Democratic Election adopted within the CIS. Our experts, who include qualified lawyers with academic degrees, agree on this assessment. We have held several meetings with representatives of the Central Election Commission, the Constitutional Court, and various political parties. So far, no issues have been raised,” he said.
Kobitskiy noted that tonight they will summarize their observations and draft an opinion, which will be made public after the Constitutional Court approves the election results.
“However, we will be able to share preliminary conclusions as early as tomorrow at a press conference,” he added.
On June 28, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree dissolving the sixth convocation of the Azerbaijani Parliament and scheduling the extraordinary election for September 1.
For the first time, an election to the parliament is being held in all sovereign territories of Azerbaijan. Special attention has been given to organizing and conducting the election at the highest level in the territories liberated from occupation, where 54 polling stations have been established to uphold the constitutional rights of more than 42,000 eligible voters.
In the election to the parliament, 990 candidates are vying for seats. All necessary conditions have been provided for their free campaigning, in line with legislative requirements. More than 600 international observers and over 112,000 local observers are monitoring the election, with web cameras installed at 1,000 polling stations nationwide to allow direct and continuous observation of the voting process without the need for registration.
Portable ballot boxes will also be available for voting in the parliamentary election, with all polling stations equipped accordingly.
In connection with the election, the Citizens' Labor Rights Protection League, together with Oracle Advisory Group (US), and the "Tereggi" Public Association for Social Research, in collaboration with the Italian SWG S.p.A. research company, have applied to the CEC to conduct an exit poll during the election.
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