BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 7. The 2024 Azerbaijani presidential election stands out from previous one due to its high level of activity, said the First Deputy Director General of TASS (Russian News Agency) Mikhail Gusman, Trend reports, referring to the "Election 2024” Independent Media Center.
He further emphasized the significance and indicative nature of the ongoing election process.
"The participation level in this election surpasses that of previous one. It's evident. People are turning out in large numbers without any specific campaign urging them to do so. I believe this is influenced by the fact that Azerbaijan today stands as a country free from occupied territories due to the victorious outcome of the Second Karabakh War. This has significantly boosted people's enthusiasm for the election," he said.
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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